Adopted Souls
by artist-pad
Summary: The story is following Arthur, an orphaned artist that's growing up in New Meridian. Think of this story as how the story mode for Skullgirls plays out. Leave a review if you enjoy the story. Any feedback is appreciated
1. Chapter 1

A swirl of emotions and regret. A cold nightmare ran right through a boy's veins as he awoke to the sound of a bell tower as the sun was rising. The boy sat up from the wooden plank he was resting on as he looked around. Everything was still as it was when he went to sleep. Another nightmare about her. He gave a sigh as he rubbed his head as he sat in the attic of a run down home. Life was not easy for an orphan in New Meridian, especially if he pushed back against the Medici Mafia. Arthur stood at 5'4' as he got up to stretch, being cautious where the boy stood given the flooring was a bit weak. He came to this place a year ago on this date to be exact, his birthday. Now 19 years of age, he still felt the same as he was last year minus the fact he still remember the orphanage and what happened to the kids including her…

The gave a sigh brushing the dust off his white t-shirt with paint spot on it as well as his tan cargo brown pants. He would probably need to save up for his tennis shoes as he needed to get those things replaced soon. Shoes were really expensive to say the least. He ruffled his short brown hair, still a mess as always. He grabbed his earth green jacket and messenger bag. He would also grab his scarf that was laying not to far from the bag. As he touched it, the scarf would snake up his arm while the other half of it slid over to grab his black hat that he had left on a nail. Placing the hat on his head he sighed happily as he adjusted the hat. The only thing that got out of that orphanage was his scarf. A faded dark red scarf with each end having five braided tips with blue beads on the tips and bases of the braids. What was interesting about the ends was they were in the shape of hands which made sense after realizing the scarf worked as an extra set of hands for the orphan. Which those hands have come in handy for grabbing items from afar to helping punch his way out of trouble when cornered. And considering New Meridian was not exactly the easiest town to live in either if you were at the bottom, needed to know how to fight. But he got around moving from location to location living light weight from his messenger bag as he hopped out of a hole in the roof. His ocean blue eyes look outward over the docks from where he was standing and gave a soft sigh. He could hear some smaller ships rolling by in the harbor, a few blimps were over near the higher end of town that he could see in the distance, the streets were busy and filled with people of all sorts of species. In this world, there are various species ranging from fish, giants, some insects, even monsters. Just this town was mostly human centered as Arthur was deciding what to do first thing. Maybe best to go wandering on the dock shoreline, see if he could find anything he could sell. With that he hopped over to one of the buildings next to him and started down a fire escape to the street level.

It took a good bit of walking to get down to the docking area, though was much faster after he caught a trolley car heading down which he hopped on at the last moment. As they say, as long as the conductor doesn't catch ya free rides. Once down there he would set out towards the piers, taking a detour to walk in under the pier where the water meets the shore. Plenty of homeless and orphans combed these beaches by the docks in case they find something of value they can sell. The very few eat some of the stuff they find and end up sicker then a dog in desperation. Arthur was desperate at the moment, he could always go buy an apple or two to munch on before getting something more filling. He did make some extra bucks doing street artwork and sketches of people to help feed himself. Although, some of the cops didn't like his art work being on walls or side walks and many of times they would run him off before finishing his work. A bit like bullies as they were much rougher on the orphans then others in this part of town. But aside from that, he was searching around hopefully early enough that he may find something interesting. It was not long before his foot hit something hard and tripped him up.

"W-Whoa!" a shout came from him as he fell face first into the sand. He picked himself up shaking his head to remove the sand from his face as he looked behind him to see what it was. Something had gotten stuck in the sand and whatever it was, looked crystalline and orange.

"What the heck are you?" he asked himself moving around to dig out the piece which was a surprise it was quite a substantial piece of crystal. The crystal was at least six inches long and a good two inches thick. It almost reminded him of quartz but it had a faint orange glow as he held it.

"This should sell for a pretty penny" he smiled to himself as he lets his scarf grab it and place it into his messenger bag. However as soon as his scarf touched it, the beaded ends started to glow and a jolt came from it that made him jump dropping the crystal.

"What the hell sort of thing is that" he reeled a bit from the shock but was mostly fine. His scarf also seemed fine. Being a bit cautious he touched it with his foot finding it didn't shock him then. He tried his hand and found it was fine to handle by hand.

"Alright, you're special let me see here" searching through his messenger bag he finds a piece of long cloth that he wraps the orange crystal in and stuffs it into his messenger bag. Definitely an odd find but maybe he could sell it high to the pawn shop.

"Hey Arthur!" came a voice as Arthur stopped to turn to see who it was. It was a 14 year old fish boy that had his feet dangling off one of the piers as he smiled down at him. The boy had green scales, blue eyes and a purple fin on top of his head. He wore gray shorts and a t-shirt that was dirtied up from not washing recently.

"A bit early for treasure hunting?" the boy asked as Arthur chuckled walking over.

"Gills, you know me… Oh Geez Gills Phew!" Arthur had to stop short of the fish as he could smell him and waved his hand in front of his nose.

"Get a bath man, I know those guys at the dump don't care for the stench but geez, I'm up wind and I can smell ya" he commented as Gills sighed.

"I know I know, but I just got off work and wanted to find ya. Someone said they saw ya in that abandoned antique house and I saw ya coming down here via the trolley car" Gills said as his hands were holding something in a bit of cloth. Odd why was he looking for him Arthur wondered. Gills was probably one of the first orphans Arthur helped out while in this town, heck helped him on his first day here in New Meridian.

"I see, so what ya got there Gills?" Arthur asked and Gills produced by tossing him the item.

"Catch!" was all the warning Arthur got as one of his scarf ends went up to grab the item. He brought it down to his level and undid the cloth. It was a silver pocket watch, an old tarnished one but it sounded like it was working. Upon opening it he found the watch was working correctly and on the inside cover it read 'year one' etched badly into the cover. He knew Gills liked to tinker with stuff and make it work, but seriously, he should keep this.

"Gills, what's this for mate? Your the one that's always late to stuff Gills" Arthur remarked as Gills sighed.

"You said today was your birthday a year ago right? And this is also the day you came here man. I mean, life's been pretty tough for us orphans down here. It got better when Ms. Fortune decided to help us out and push some of those Medici thugs out. But you've given us some dreams man" Gills remarked with a smile. "You stood up for some of us when locals were pushing us around and when some of those thugs tried to take us away you fought them back. You've been there for us and yeah you're right I'm the late one. But I wanted to show my appreciation for having ya as a friend Art" he finished as Arthur gave a soft sigh. It was true, out of the orphans and homeless folk, he was probably the oldest of the entire group and the most active down in the docks. He's always been around to help anyone down in the docks and many didn't know when his birthday was except for a few individuals.

"That's thoughtful of ya mate, if ya didn't smell so bad I would give ya a hug… But" as Arthur spoke his hand pulled a paint brush from his messenger bag and flung a ball of blue paint up to Gills splatting him in the face.

"?! The heck Arthur! Is this your way of saying thank ya!" Gills complained as Arthur chuckled.

"Nah, I already thanked ya, that's to help musk up some of that smell. Get a shower man" Arthur remarked as Gills gave a small smile.

"Well alright, if ya run into the cat burglar some point today tell her I said hi" Gills would get up off his butt and head off wiping some of the paint off his face as Arthur sighed putting the brush away.

"He's a good kid, just wish there was more I could do for them. Wish there was more I could have done for you Marie..." he trailed off looking at the pocket watch. It was also on this same day that a group of slavers stormed the orphanage he was at and took nearly all the orphans except him. Marie was one of those orphans that had been looking up to him as a big brother along with her friend Patricia. He gave a heavy sigh clipping the chain clip to his belt loop and then pockets the watch. Hopping up, he went up a set of stairs to reach the pier level as he heads on off. Maybe time to grab a little something to eat.

It was a few blocks over but Arthur managed to get to the open market browsing through the vendors and picking up a few items to eat. Namely some apples and a fish on a stick, they called those fish sticks. At least it wasn't bad to eat. A few of the vendors of course greeted him with smiles all having been helped by him in some way with getting things moved around every now and then. Despite his size, he was quite strong with that scarf of his. And for once the day seemed to be going alright as he checked the time. Almost noon. If he waited a bit longer, he could catch the tram to head up to the richer side of town. Maybe he could get lucky with some street sketches or maybe take some money of his and try to get himself something nice. Though as he was walking he felt something small bump into him, stopping he looked down to see a light blue ball about ten inches across. He looked around to where the ball could have came from and saw a little girl standing not a few feet from him unsure what to really do. A bit further back he could see another kid, a boy, looking at them both. Both were canine in their features and the boy seemed older then the girl. He would return his glance to the girl which he offered a smile, looking back down as his scarf picks up the ball and tosses it back to the little girl. The girl caught it smiling a toothy grin as she looked back at Arthur.

"Thank you Mister!" she would turn back around and head back towards the boy. By the way the two acted, they seemed to be siblings. He gave a soft sigh as he watched them as they carried on playing with that ball. He was remembering the good times he had back at the orphanage. Sure it was not the best, but the friendships and family you develop over time is hard to forget. He would refocus his attention elsewhere as he started walking out of the market place as he pulled an apple out of his messenger bag with a smile. He knew of a short cut to the tram station via an alleyway as he enters the alley way a rattling from a trash can takes his attention away from his scarf what was holding the apple. A cat looked up at him and meowed before running off. Darn cats. Turning his attention back forward, his scarf end that was holding the apple was still in place but something was missing… Like the apple he just had.

"Hey! What the!?" an obvious response most individuals have when they have something stolen from them as he heard a light chuckle coming from the fire escape above him. Above him sat a familiar face to him, a dark skinned feline looking gal. She's got the ears, claws, and tail to be a cat but her appearance was human. Minus the fact she had plenty of scars on her and at least a major scar at each of her major joints. Wearing a blue tank top that only covered her chest and short shorts with small bags off her belt she smiled down at Arthur with her tail swaying.

"Awww what's the matter Artie, cat got your apple?" she grinned holding the apple that he had originally in his scarf hand.

"Well coming from you Ms. Fortune, yes. Yes a cat does, and I'd like that back. Last time I checked you can care less for those things" Arthur remarked with his arms crossed as she hops on down.

"Yeah your right, but hey got your attention at least birthday boy" she tossed the apple back as Arthur's scarf grabbed it and rubbed it off just for safe measure. Never know where a cats had their paws. He gave a sigh when he heard the birthday boy, this couldn't end well.

"I'm not a boy anymore, I'm nineteen. And I've been eighteen ever since I got here" he remarked as she just smiled.

"Aww come on, can't humor an honest good joke. Don't be so serious, I still should give ya your present" she remarked looking down slightly. She only stood a few inches taller then him after all given he was a shorty compared to most guys.

"If it's a fish comb I'll have to go fishing for more then" he remarks as he looked to the side at another cat that was sitting on a trash can watching the two of them curiously.

"Nah I got something better" she grabbed her tail and pulled it off whipping it into a stiff staff and flattened it so it looked like a paddle. "Birthday paddling! And seeing you're nineteen, guess that's nineteen paddles" she smiled as Arthur took a step back pocketing his apple. Guess that would have to wait. He was grateful that she was back after her crossing with the Medici mafia and losing her gang, but how reckless she became being able to segment her own body and still keep ticking did unsettle him greatly.

"Seriously? You're going to try giving me that? Gee if I knew your birthday, I'd have to give you nine times the paddling" he remarked as his hand slips into his messenger bag pulling a small brush out. She just smiled at him a bit to eager for this.

"Awww come on, a few swats ain't gonna hurt ya. But I can give ya nineteen punches if ya like" she remarked taking quick steps to close the gap between the two of them. She swings her tail at him as his scarf end came up to block the blow.

"Sorry, not touching today" he remarked as his other scarf end formed into a fist punching her right in the stomach. That pushed Ms. Fortune back a bit with her arms coming out a bit but remaining connected as she hissed.

"Oh fine, was gonna spare the claws on ya but I guess ya want the hard way" she remarked dashing right for him and slides at him feet first. Arthur didn't have much places to go as he tries to side step away from the slide. One of her legs hooked around and caught him off balance as he falls face first. It didn't take him long before he was back on his feet after pushing himself back up.

"Why you, so this is why ya can't teach a cat anything. They'll do whatever they want" he commented as his scarf swung another fist at her. She was already in a crouching stance and the swing from him was a wild one. Went sailing right over her head.

"Geez, your aim sucks" she taunts pouncing up at him. She was to close for his scarf ends to do much of anything to her, but a swipe of his paint brush produced a blue paint that came out and hit her in mid pounce. This caused her to shift a bit in her pounce which he was able to use to let him have a free hit on her. Getting another good shot at her stomach sending her backwards for a few feet before she lands on her butt.

"Damn! I never knew you could hit that hard Artie boy" she smirked with a bit of a smile hopping right back on her feet.

"Hey I'm not hitting ya that hard. I told ya no. Do it again and you're going to slammed on" he warned her as he had his own hands as fist. She just smiled grabbing her head.

"Well better get a rolling start!" pulling her own head off she rolls it at him like a bowling ball. Arthur sighed as he looked over seeing an open trash can right behind her body. He smiled a bit as his scarf end came down opening up to let her roll off the scarf as he grabs her head with his scarf.

"Hey! Put me back down! I'll bite your finger off!" she remarked as her body was coming at him.

"Oh I'll put ya down, but I wanna make two points real quick" smiling he would start to dribble her head like a ball which she obviously had complaints right and left as she was bounced. Her body tried to grab him, but failed when he faked it out and went for the trash can. He tossed her head up into the air and had it going for the trash can that was open. His scarf ends came up to help guide the head into the can. SLAM! THUD! Were the sounds heard when he slammed her head into the trash can. His other scarf end grabbed the lid and set it on top of the can as he sat on it. Her body was completely lost now that she could not even see where it was even going.

"Damn it Arthur! This isn't funny!" she complained bouncing around in the can with some garbage in it. He just smiled looking down at the can.

"Get dunked on. I'll let ya out if you decided not to do the spankings" he remarked as she agreed.

"Fine fine! Just get me out of here! Smells like dog in here" she complained as Arthur got off the trash can and lets her hop out once the lid was off. He body came over and attatched her head properly to her shoulders as she sighed.

"Well guess I'll have to forgo the spanking today huh" she looked a bit down with her ears back.

"Yeah looks like it. But really, if you were using those spanks as a way to cover up not getting me anything for my birthday that's fine don't worry about it" he told her as she paused getting caught red handed.

"Eheheh, I'm sorry Art, I figured you would've expected something from me" she remarked as she brushed herself off. "By the way, what had ya down earlier? Something on your mind?" she asked having been watching him since he went into the street market.

"I had a nightmare about her again, Marie. I usually get a few of them around this time when I came here was the day I lost her. And she was family to me even if I was an orphan" he told her honestly with a soft sigh.

"I remember you telling me that. And more the reason I hate the Medici's more for letting slavers do that sort of crap. But ya got family here, sure the dock may not admit it but you're already adopted by us. Just gotta ask" she told him with a smile walking up to him and patting his shoulder.

"Yeah I hear ya, though I at times don't see how you guys put up with me. Then I realize this place has to put up with you too" he chuckled at her as she rolled her eyes. There was still a banana peel on her head as she saw it. Took it and tossed it on his head. His reaction was priceless, trying to swat it off his face like something evil had just landed on his face and was trying to take it with them. She was laughing a bit as Arthur grumbled at her once the peel was off.

"Yeah I know, ain't easy bein puurrfection. But really what are ya doin today? Ain't hanging around down here all day are ya?" she asked curiously as she stretched her shoulder idling.

"Was thinking of heading uptown. Maybe find something nice to buy or something. Try to keep out of trouble, the usual what I do" he told her as she chuckled.

"Right, doing graffiti in the park. Cops sure gonna love ya up there" she joked around with him. Number of times Arthur's almost got locked up cause of his street art was amusing but every time the artwork was not offensive and was easy to remove. Just was there without asking permission.

"To be fair, the last time was chalk. But nah, I may not do that this time around. Good thought for next time though" he smiled as Ms. Fortune rummaged around in one of her bags. She presented a tram ticket for him.

"What's this for?" a bit confused as most of the stuff she tried handing him was usually stolen.

"Just a tram ticket, bought one way back but never used it. They don't go bad and I didn't steal it either. Though if I showed my face up there in broad day light, Medici's would be all over my hide. So figured you could make better use of it" she explained as he took the ticket.

"Thank you Fortune, was not expecting this but thanks. At least I can save on the trip up. I'll catch ya later, I think the next tram comes in the next few minutes. Maybe able to catch it if I hurry" he said thinking on the time schedule for the tram. Usually he would hitch a ride on top of the tram to get across to the upper part of town. But today, maybe nice to just take it like a normal person and not go for a free loader route. With that he turned and went off towards the tram station, he should make it in time.

"Cya Later Alligator!" Ms. Fortune shouted with a wave. Arthur would turn back around for a few moments as he was in a dash and waved shouting back.

"And a while Crocodile!" he smiled turning the street corner and went on down the side walk towards the tram station. This was gonna be a fun day, make the most of it if you can. Though something still gripped at him deep down. Was this the start of a new year for him, or a new chapter on life.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur managed to get to the station right on time. As always, the train station was busy with people coming on and off. Some heading to the docks for work and vice versa. He managed to get into the station just before the final boarding was called to head uptown. The tram system had two major hubs, the harbor hub and the uptown hub. Each hub had smaller tram and trolley cars that zipped around town but each hub had something different they specialized in. The harbor hub had the main rail yards for freight while uptown hub was for commuters. He didn't waste much time as he got into the station and caught a tram car going up town. The trip itself would take no more then 15 minutes one way as he was looking for a seat. The tram was pretty crowded as he made his way to the back. He eventually came across two seats, one occupied by a girl around his age sitting by the window. She wore a schoolgirl outfit and her black hair was kept in a big hat with the ends going as if someone took a hat with a brim all around it then made the brim floppy. She had a figure to say the least as her eyes were gazing outwards watching the buildings going past.

"Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?" he asked curiously as he was standing holding onto a handle bar above his head along with other passengers. Her red eyes turned to look up to him removing her hand from her chin as she seemed to be leaning on her arm in boredom.

"Oh no, you can have it if you like" she said watching him with a small smile. A bit of an innocent smile to say the least.

"Alright, thank you. I forget how crowded the tram gets these days" he comments taking a seat. His hands pulling his bag onto his lap and his scarf ends floating up to lay on top of his bag.

"Guess the weekend has everyone up and about huh?" the girl replied backed turning a bit of her attention to him.

"I suppose so, just traveling uptown to explore around. The name's Arthur by the way" he introduced himself refraining from offering her a hand to shake.

"Ah, the name's Filia. I've heard uptown is pretty nice too. Just spending the day up there huh?" her voice was curious as Arthur nods.

"Yeah you can say that. Though I usually go up every few months to do street art or sketches. But today's special" he did make a mental note that she seemed a bit to cleaned up to be living in the docks.

"Sketches? You're an artist? That sounds wonderful, could ya sketch me?" her excitement was evident in her voice. He was considering saying no but chuckled as his hand slips into his messenger bag pulling a black sketchbook and pencil.

"Usually I don't do these sketches for people on the tram, but I'll give it a shot" he began doodling almost immediately. It was nice that he had a photogenic memory remember every detail that he could see like a camera.

"Thank you Arthur. You said today was special, what makes it so special? Meeting an old friend? Getting an award?" Filia continued to ask in her same voice as she leaned against her seat.

"Well, if you consider an award for making it around the sun again then yes. Though I think we call that a birthday" he adds taking a few glances over to her as he worked.

"It's your birthday?! Oh well happy birthday then. Though don't you have friends and family to celebrate it with?" her voice seemed to change from her chipper self as he shrugged.

"I'll probably do something tonight when I get back to the docks. A friend of mine gave me this tram ticket to get up here so figured I would use it. Maybe bring something back instead. Plus I don't want to remember my birthday at times. I lost someone dear to me on this day and I want to remember them for the good not the moment they disappeared. So what better way then to explore and bring a smile to people" he looked over to Filia with a smile. She gave a half smile though had a frown as she was mulling what he was saying. She felt bad for some reason but figured it would be best to let him do what he was going to do.

"I guess if you were wanting that is fine. I was going to offer if you wanted me to tag along I could. I got nothing else to do really" she added getting a shake from his head as he was half way done with the sketch.

"I appreciate your offer but no thanks. Plus, at the moment you're frowning not smiling. Come on, got the best smile I've seen thus far from a girl as cute as you" he realized that came off as a flirt but was gambling the flirt would help get her off his case.

"Filthy per-mph!" a low voice nearly a growl came out from under Filia's hat as she pulls her hat down a bit more. He paused a moment looking over to her, was not expecting a voice coming from her direction as he didn't quite catch what it said.

"Did you say something Filia?" he asked as her face was a bit embarrassed as she kept her hat down.

"N-No! Definitely didn't say anything! Everything A-OK here heh" she looked nervous with her cheeks red from the embarrassment. She really didn't want to scare this guy off as he seemed so nice. He gave her a questioning look on what she was saying. Could have sworn something was trying to come out of her hat. However if it was something that she really didn't want shown best not to pry.

"Alright if ya say so" he shrugged it off as he continued to work. After this little fiasco, both of them remained silent til the tram made it to it's final destination. He tore off the sheet of paper that had the sketch on it and handed it to her.

"Here ya go Filia. I do hope you like it" it was quite well done for a guy not given art lessons. Her smile returned as she held the sketch in her hands.

"Oh it's wonderful thank you! I would give you some money but I'm currently out at the moment" she felt a bit bad for the lack of money. He probably charged a bit for these sketches to begin with as he shakes his head.

"Nah don't worry about it. Besides, we're at our destination and we should get off unless ya want to head back to the docks" he was getting up slowly placing his stuff into his messenger bag humming a bit.

"Yeah you're right" she added following him off the tram along with everyone else. The two would part ways at the station as Arthur went off in his own direction. Filia herself stood there with the sketch looking at it with a smile. It was merely a sketch of her head and face but it looked so nice to her.

"Hope we get to meet again Arthur, maybe I'll remember you better after my memories come back" she gave a soft sigh folding the sketch up and sliding it into a pocket before she went off her own way.

He kept forgetting how big the sky scrappers were in New Meridian when he went to the richer parts of town as he looked up a bit to see the tall buildings. He knew the Medici's had their base of operations here in the upper part of town, though given who he was he was considered a nobody. Or a possible pest, he was not sure but didn't feel any eyes on him so he felt safe. As he continued down the street, he was heading for the park. A good place where he could draw to his hearts content and possibly get a few people wanting sketches from him too. Make some quick cash to help him out down in the docks. He hummed to himself as he walked into the park, a lovely place with a few rolling hills, winding paths, a large pond in the middle with several people out on this fine beautiful day. He was walking down the ways heading for a bench that was overlooking the pond that had a shade tree leaning over the bench. Though before he could get there, two officers were walking by as one of them raised an eyebrow to him. Oh this can't be good, he pulled his hat down a bit and took a deep breath. He was just here to draw on paper, not to deface property.

"Excuse me, do we know you? You look a bit familiar" one of the offices said. This one wore a pair of glasses with white short hair. Was a human by looks as the other was a German Shepard canine.

"I don't think so officer" Arthur remarked as the canine officer gave him a sniff.

"Eh, smell like the docks. Been hearin from the boys down there that they have this problem with a boy with a red scarf scribbling all over the place. Tellin us that ain't you?" he officer barked as Arthur took a step back as he watched them both.

"I'm not here to cause trouble okay. I learned my lessons and trying to enjoy the weather today" he tells them as the two officers look at the other.

"Bruce, let him off easy. No point in making up trouble for the boy" the human office remarked taking a step to the side. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Why not, no point in dragging in some kid that hasn't done anything. Let's let him go" Bruce remarked taking a step to the side giving Arthur a shot at walking in between them. Arthur was hesitant but went anyways. Though a leg came out from the human officer and tripped Arthur. The artist should have known this would happen as he fell face first onto the concrete sidewalk as both officers were laughing.

"Oops, guess we let him off so easy he forgot to walk" the human heckled as both officers walked off howling in laughter. Well, seems the cops are just as twisted as they are down at the docks. Good old paid cops paid off by the Medicis. Seriously he felt if that mafia was gone things may get better. May was the right word as he picked himself up and made it to the bench he was after. Once he was sitting down he began to sketch a bit of what was around him. He did set a small poster advertising face sketches for a small price. It was nice when people actually came up and bought a few sketches that he did for them. It was quite nice to say the least as he pocketed the money after a couple of hours. He grew hungry and left the park.

After grabbing a hotdog from a hotdog stand, he noticed a set of posters hanging up of activities and events going on around New Meridian. He noted several bands and charity events on various dates though not in the time frame he was gonna be up to attend them. The one that caught is attention was a flier for the Cirque De Cartes, a circus that always runs on the weekends near one of the casinos. He rubs his chin as his scarf hands float up to try grabbing the flier but realize it's fastened to the wall. More like a glue really as he nods.

"Cirque De Cartes? Sounds fun to me, could catch one of their shows and see how it goes" he commented aloud with a smile. He had a memory of where streets were and after pulling out a map, figured out where it was sitting. He made his way on foot to the circus with a hum in his voice. A bit naive or just plain reckless that he was going to this circus as he had an idea the Big River Casino was a Medici joint, but was unsure if the circus was part of them. He looked for a shortcut and found one via a small street as he goes down it. It was not a busy street and very few were doing down it. As he was looking down at his map before putting it away, something came out of an alleyway just in front of him. A literal wall as Arthur bumped into it full walking speed stumbling backwards.

"What the hell? Hey watch where you're going mis...ter?" his voice grew a tad weary as he was looking up at the individual. What he saw was a bit of an oddity even to himself. It looked to be a giant man, at least seven feet tall, with a giant trench coat on and wearing a hat and breathing mask over his mouth and nose. The sleeves of the coat had what seemed to be valves on a saxophone and his back had a saxophone attached to it which vanished behind the individual when he turned towards Arthur. A small padded claw was holding what seemed to be a gauge or something but was making a flashing light and a small noise as the device vanished in under the coat.

"My apology there. Didn't mean to startle you and run into you. I'm not the biggest of fans of cutting alleyways" it's voice sounded mechanical but still had that human tone to it. What was with this guy? Looked kinda like a cop but his politeness told him otherwise.

"It's fine. A bit to polite for an officer that I can tell you. And what the heck was that thing you had out? Some sort of radiation counter or something?" Arthur asked crossing his arms as his two scarf hands float beside him looking up at the individual.

"Well I use to be a cop but not anymore. And that thing was a Theonite Detector, used to pick up signs of theonite. Which I do need to ask, have ya seen anyone or anything undead around you today?" the big man asked inquisitively.

"Undead? No I haven't, why is there something I should be worried about, and I have no idea who the heck you even are stranger" Arthur remarked as the man sighed. Guess this one required some formalities.

"The name's Big Band, part of the ASG task force meant to stop the skullheart and skullgirl at all cost" he introduced himself with Arthur raising an eyebrow.

"ASG? Well you look the part Big man. Though I'm pretty sure I haven't seen nor ran into any skullhearts or skullgirls today. I'm not hanging around if I saw either to be honest" Arthur added as his scarf shifted a bit on his neck.

"I can understand your standing on those statements. But back to why I asked. The skullheart and skullgirl both give off strong signals of theonite and you're reading like you have either or ran into them. But you're not dead that I can tell and I'm taking your word on this" Big Band explained as Arthur was pondering what he was saying. He had definitely seen no one dead dead, dead tired yes. But physically dead no.

"Theonite huh, what does it look like? I'm usually down by the docks and been combing out there looking for stuff to maybe sell off. Maybe you can tell me what this is" Arthur commented opening his messenger bag and begins to dig into it. It took a few moments but Arthur pulled out the orange piece of glowing crystal. Big Band's eyes went a bit wide and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, play me a tune, that is a theonite crystal. You said you found that in the harbor? Very interesting it must have been dropped by someone" the mechanical man was quite surprised with what he saw. He was expecting something undead to come out of that guys bag not an actual theonite crystal.

"I take it by your voice this sells pretty high" Arthur remarked as Big Band nods.

"It would sell high yes. Though I think you may want to keep that for yourself" Big Band remarked back as he sighed a bit.

"Alright if ya say so. I take it if I ran into you, there's a skullgirl out there at the moment huh?" Arthur asked a tad worried to hear the inevitable answer.

"You got it. Though this one has it in for the Medici Mafia and just finished scoping the place and saw nothing" Big Band remarked looking at the time.

"My search continues, best to be safe there… What was your name?" Big Band asked the artist adjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder.

"Arthur and to you the same big guy" Arthur nods as he walks past the mechanical man as he heads to the circus. Big Band himself shakes his head with a padded claw coming from his trench coat and adjusting his hat before slipping into the fog of the night.

Arthur went into the casino finding the circus entrance was a short walk inside the casino which he had no issues getting in. What concerned him was if someone that he had pissed off back at the docks would try to nail him down at their base of operations. Taking the home advantage that a lot of people do especially in sports and in war. But he took his chances as he probably wasn't even a huge issue with the Mafia. All he did was do good deeds down at the docks and stand up to thugs over small stuff. He knew better then to piss the organization off, he remembered what happened to Ms. Fortune. She got lucky was his take on it. He bought a ticket and went on inside the big top as he watched the whole show. It was quite nice to watch as he smiled, first time going to the circus to be honest as the acts were all quite nice. The performers were as colorful as their acts the did. Though the entire time he felt eyes were on him. He did notice Cerebella, the apparent star of the show as she did her act on the high wire. Impressive what she could do with Vice Versa, he wondered if his scarf could do something similar. The show went well for the most part as he had stuff he could draw later on. The show ended and Arthur went out along with everyone else. Some of the security looked at him oddly as he went out. At least nothing bad happened as he made a corner turn to head towards the train station. He was going on the backside of the casino which didn't seem to busy. Seemed a faster route would be to loop around the building to head to where he needed to go. Maybe catch one of the cable cars to ride on the backside for free. Though that changed when he saw two figures coming out. Both figures were fairly big humans, fairly muscular may have stood around six feet tall. As he stood there, another two appeared behind him, one was human the other a pitbull humanoid. They were all dressed in button up shirts and slacks with dress shoes. They all seemed ready for a fight and Arthur recognized them immediately. The thugs from the docks.

"Man ya got some guts showing your stupid face up here. Did ya think you could walk through our place without us noticing you little shit?" one of the two humans in front of him said. The humans seemed to be brothers having matching blond hair just cut different styles.

"Well considering how slow you guys are at times I was kinda hoping. But seems your buddy is more a blood hound then pit" Arthur jabbed at the group as the pitbull took a wild swing with a baseball bat with some lovely barbed wire wrapped around all festive like. Arthur managed to duck by it as he turn, a fist was already made on one of his scarf hands. Delivering a clean left hook right to the pooch's jaw would knock him over into some garbage. Hopefully knocked out. But the other human that was behind Arthur had moved quickly to his side grabbing the other scarf end and pulling it. As the scarf was tied around Arthur's throat he jerked a bit and tried to retaliate back. One of the other guys went around grabbing the other end and pulled too. With both ends being pulled it was choking Arthur as he nearly froze in place. Coughing for air Arthur took his left hand to try pulling his scarf a tad looser while his hand reached for his messenger bag. Though just as he grabbed his paint brush, the other thug came over delivering a good kick to the gut that made Arthur lurch dropping his left hand and losing that fight for his neck.

"Go on ahead Luke and Travis, choke this fucker. I want a good square fight with this fuck boy" the one with his hands free smiled as Arthur looked up at him. He only had one chance at this. If it failed, he would probably be knocked unconscious then dead. He flicked his paint brush as green paint shoot up as he flung his arm outward as a fist holding the brush. The paint ball that came from it splattered right into the fellows eyes as he lurched back.

"GAWD! MY EYES!" the man howled as the two brothers were a bit surprised by what they saw.

"What the hell?" Luke said as he was the idiot that let some tension fall from his end of the scarf. That was the break he needed as his scarf came to life jerking itself away from Luke's grip and slapping him to the side. The same scarf end would slap Travis to the side as well and immediately start to loosen around Arthur's neck once Travis dropped his end. Arthur took several steps back as he was leaning over coughing and having rasp breathing as he still held onto his paint brush, the brother re grouped watching Arthur. The one that had the green on his face was now able to see a bit better as he snarled.

"Dirty trick street orphan" the oldest brother, the one with the green on his face, remarked as the three were about ready to jump Arthur again. Though this time, he was a bit more ready for them. After another cough, Arthur looked back up at them as he stood back up having caught his breath.

"That's Arthur to you boys" he said as his scarf unties itself around his neck and instead lays over his shoulders, twisting around his fore arms and leaving some scarf loose across his shoulders so not to restrict his arms. A fight would proceed with the three brothers bearing down on Arthur though he managed to dodge and weave around them nicely. Though he did get surprised by one of them and got hit pretty hard. He was lucky he didn't break any bones as he dealt with each brother one at a time, using the paint he slung around to cause one to slip up while throwing blobs and slashes of paint that would send them reeling backwards. His scarf did the heavy hits once they were in close range. The fight took less then five minutes at best. He was panting as he took a deep breath, lucky he only got a cut across his cheek from a switch blade one of them pulled out on him which that turned the fight from wear them down to take them down now state.

"Geez, men these days. Beat one off and then more want to be beaten" a joke to himself as he looks around. This was a bad place to be.

"I need to get scarce quick. Someone finds these guys back here with me and I'm definitely on the radar" he commented as he looked around seeing a fire escape that he could climb up.

"Hey, I heard something down there!" a voice said as Arthur looked over towards where the sound was. Shit, better go he thought as he hopped up onto the fire escape and started going up as quickly and quietly as he can. Opting to eventually use his paint brush to make painted stairs that he used to get up and off the fire escape as it was quite loud climbing up it quickly.

"Cerebella wait up!" a second female voice shouted as two females appeared to investigate the fight. Both were circus performers for the circus and both had some ties to the Medici Mafia as both looked around at the painted mess and the four thugs thrown around the place.

"What the heck happened to these guys?" Cerebella commented as she checked two of the guys. Both were alive. The second person that was with her was Feng, her roommate and friend.

"Geez, looks like someone went Picasso on these guys. Poor bastards" she commented looking around.

"But they're not dead, just knocked cold. Get some of the other guys from inside, need to get these guys out of here. Can't have them laying around behind our backdoor" Cerebella said as Feng sighed.

"Fine, I'm sure Vitale will be thrilled to hear this" she commented as she rushed back from where she came.

"Damn, a call from Vitale telling us to head to the Medici Tower, and now these four guys go out cold. Who in their right mind would do this" Cerebella commented to herself unaware Arthur was watching her from on top of a roof.

"If only ya knew the half of it..." he told himself and slipped back from over the ledge and started to dash off. The train station was in the down town part of this city as he was in the upper town part. He needed to traverse some distance and fast. Something deep down told him something was off. It became evident though when he heard something creaking and groaning. Then screams and yelling as he looked over to where he heard the groans from. The tallest tower which he was told by Ms. Fortune was the Medici Tower, ripped in two and falling towards his general direction.

"HOLY MARY MOTHER!" he shouted as he was running the other way from the falling but tripped before he could do anything. The shadow grew bigger and bigger over top of him, his fate was sealed for good as he closed his eyes and curled up into a ball. But nothing happened. He could still hear the screams and yelling but then also groans and moans. Something was going on, he opened his eyes looking outwards and saw what seemed to ghosts and spirits. What the hell?

"What in the hell is going on?" he told himself as he saw that the building was floating up by two huge hands that seemed to be made of spirits and corpses. He could hear groans and moans down on the street level. Civilians were panicking as the undead were rising. But at that moment his eyes fixated on one spot. One spot he saw that was hovering in the air, hands up commanding the undead. A familiar face, a face he had thought he would never see. But not like this.

"No… That can't be you… Marie" his body was shaking realizing that it was her. Of all the people who became the skullgirl. Of all the people in the world it could have been, it was Marie.


	3. Chapter 3

This had to be a bad dream. There was no way Marie, the girl that he would call his sister, was the skullgirl the big guy was looking for. Good lord, what the heck should he even do? She seemed to be concentrating herself on holding the tower segment up. He wanted to talk to her, but decided now was not the best time.

"I gotta get moving, if she drops that I'm dead in under it" he commented as he bit his lower lip as he hops from roof to roof heading away from where the tower may land. Though as he went, he came across a courtyard on top of one of the roofs. A concrete courtyard, it had no plants but it had a good spot to lounge around if it wasn't seeming like the end of the world. He could hear gunfire as he looked over the ledge seeing the Black Egrets in action trying to take down the zombies and the undead that were coming out in wake of the skullgirl.

"Seriously like a nightmare out here" he commented as he was still noticing spirits being called upwards as Arthur was looking upward. Though he missed the coffin that had busted open above him and something was falling down not up. He took a step back and suddenly something landed on his back knocking him down to the ground. He was unsure what fell on him as it was moving.

"That was quite the surprise" a voice came that sounded female but a bit hallowed out as it echoed a bit.

"Indeed it is my lady. And it seems we know what the culprit is" a male voice followed her remark. Arthur tried to turn his head around to see who or what was on him. What was sitting on him was a female in a black dress that was form fitting down past her wide hips and opened at the bottom. Her feet had red and white stripped soaks that went up her legs for who knows how far. He continued to look up seeing the top of her dress was red with a skull plate on the front. She had sleeves that only covered her lower arms starting from just above her elbow down. The sleeves were colored the same way as her socks and a choker was around her neck as he went up. What struck him odd was her skin was purple and blue as well as her face. She had a red eye and her dark purple hair covered her left eye. Though he heard a voice from her, her mouth was sewn shut and more disturbing, a bony looking snake was coming out of her head. The snake came out the left side of her head right wear a pig tail would be and the other end coming out below the pig tail on the right side of her head. Both of their attentions were upward at the floating building and looking at the skullgirl.

"She has to be stopped Leviathan. I can't believe another skullgirl has woken up again" the gal commented as she was seeming to be recovering from something. Maybe from being asleep for so long?

"Indeed it seems so. And she's already grown this powerful. We should hurry though and hope the weight doesn't break her before we can destroy that heart" the bone snake said who was apparently named Leviathan.

"Tell that to my spine" Arthur groaned as both individuals that were sitting on his back paused and looked down. Finally realizing he was there. The gal immediately got off her feet and dusted herself off. A bit embarrassed of what she had unintentionally done.

"Oh I'm very sorry, I didn't realize you were there" she said covering her mouth. Arthur sighed as he started to get back up onto his feet. He stretched his back and heard a few cricks and pops coming from his back.

"Accidents happen miss. Though I assume you're not an evil undead looking to make me dead huh?" he said brushing himself off. His scarf shakes itself free of any dirt it had gotten as he looked at her. It was nice to have someone to talk to that was roughly your own size. She only stood maybe an inch shorter then him which was fine.

"Oh heavens no, I wouldn't try to harm you unless you were trying to harm us" she replied offering a smile as Leviathan was looking him over.

"You seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would've figured vagrants would have ran off by now" he commented as Arthur shrugs. He was more passing through at this point but seeing who was up there, he didn't want to risk losing her again.

"That's all relative if you ask me. Seeing you're nice and all, the name's Arthur. And you are?" he asked curiously keeping an eye out in case things get heated or they become in trouble.

"Sienna Contiello. But you can call me Squigly" she gave a bit of a curtsy when introducing herself.

"And I'm Leviathan, a trusted companion to the Contiello family. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Arthur. Though do tell if there's a way we can get off this roof top without falling off the sides?" Leviathan introduced himself politely. Though at the moment the two were sort of in an exposed spot especially with people being quite paranoid at the moment.

"Fire escapes maybe the best way down. I saw an outdoor fire escape just opposite of this building" Arthur answered the serpent as he heard noises coming from a door on the roof. The door itself flies right open as Black Egret soldiers started to fill out. Some carried rifles, some with riot gear as they took notice of the two on the roof.

"Civilian spotted! Found the unusual zombie!" two of them shouted as they were approaching the two.

"They probably assume us? But I'm a civilian too" Squigly sighed as Arthur gave a soft sigh. She seemed a lot nicer then probably all the undead that's currently walking down in the streets.

"I think they see it a bit differently" Leviathan added as the troops seemed to be carrying some equipment too. Possibly make this spot a small base? Who knows really, it was a good vantage point and the structure still felt sound.

"Leave the rogue to me, assist with the civilian Egrets" a stern female voice ordered as the troops moved a bit to the side as a women came walking up from the stair well. Wearing no more then a black form fitting dress, the dress only came down to half way past her thigh. Quite the leg action she had there. A white cross necklace sat on top of her chest. Red hair that went down to her neck in the back while her bangs covered her right eye showing off an orange eye. She carried with her an umbrella that had some orange dots to it. Neither had seen her before and by the sound of things, it was going to get heated. The women would start her attack on Squigly which she retaliated back and fought. Arthur took a few steps back as two soliders confronted him.

"Please follow us, we'll take you to safety" one of them said as it was hard to really distinguish them apart as they wore green helmets, green uniforms and wearing gas masks.

"I'm perfectly fine handling myself thank you" Arthur insisted as he took a step back from them.

"I understand you're disoriented and confused but this is no place for a civilian to be with the undead running around. That one could have torn you up if we didn't arrive when we did" the other remarked taking a step closer to Arthur. And yet Squigly didn't lay a finger on him. Well except her butt falling on him but that doesn't count.

"I'm not leaving. I'm more capable of taking care of myself thank you" Arthur stood his ground when one of the soliders grabbed his arm.

"I hate using force but it's unsa-OW!" the solider that grabbed Arthur's left arm was soon knocked away from him by a swift punch from his scarf. A few of the other soldiers caught the one that was sent flying as they looked at Arthur a tad surprised.

"That scarf's a living weapon?! The bloody devil" one of the soldiers said as they were a tad cautious getting closer but still had Arthur within a foot from the edge of the roof. He looked over seeing Squigly still trying to fight herself away from that women with the umbrella. He thinks about something for a moment as he looks over to see the alleyway below and the gap he would need to cover to make it to the other roof top. He had an idea as he pulls his paint brush out. The soldiers looked confused as he flicks the brush with orange paint coming from it. Having the brush in his right hand, he began to swirl it over his left hand producing a ball that grew bigger and bigger til it was the size of a soccer ball. He tosses it up into the air, bouncing it once with the soldiers having their attention on him. Arthur was looking for an opening where Squigly was at, maybe offering a distraction may allow her to slip away. Though once the ball went back into the air, he kicked it sending it sailing over top the soldiers heads as they watched. As they watched, Arthur made a break for it jumping off the roof and painting out a platform he rolled on to get onto the next room as he didn't have the momentum to carry him. The ball went over top of where Squigly was fighting and when the lady with the umbrella rose her weapon up to strike, it hit the ball. The ball would pop immediately like a water balloon splattering paint all over the place. Squigly managed to block herself of it while the women and a few soldiers got covered.

"I think this is a good time to take our leave Squigly. I think we'll catch up with Arthur soon enough" Leviathan suggested motioning to the fire escape.

"I have to agree. I do hope he's alright" Squigly would make a hasty retreat to the fire escape just as the skullgirl was making a move.

"Lorenzo, you bastard. Don't you run from me! You have to pay for what you've done!" her voice boomed as she was straining to hold the tower segment up. It was evident she was having some trouble but was holding herself back so not to lose herself to the heart. She took aim for a blimp that the Medici's used especially Lorenzo the head of the mafia. Arthur by this point had traveled several rooftops and was looking up as he could see Marie a bit better.

"I WILL END YOU!" Marie screamed throwing the tower at the blimp. A lucky stroke that it was not a perfect hit. But the blimp did get hit as it went over it causing the blimp to start falling fast crashing somewhere near the docks. That's a fun neighborhood to be in for a Medici. Arthur stood there as he was staring up as the skullgirl who was floating up there, the souls and bodies she had pulled up were dropping fast as she was worn out quickly by that one move. Fighting the urge to merely kill others and trying to keep her own body alive.

"Marie!" Arthur called out shouting as he was looking up she paused turning in the air to face where she heard the sound. That voice sounded familiar, distant but familiar as the skullgirl turned her attention onto the artist. I couldn't have been. He ran away, he left them to those slavers and never came for her. But there he was standing there calling out to her.

"Arthur..." Marie muttered to herself before she started to float down. Straight down as her body was going to exhaustion. She was at least a good block away as he watched her plummet to the ground.

"Good geez!" he said as he looked for a way down. He found a metal ladder and took it as he went down it quickly. He rushed as fast as he could on foot. It had seemed the undead spirits and zombies had stopped by this point going to where he could only guess Marie should be. But once he got to the spot he saw no one there. As if she vanished into thin air. His scarf end punched into a dumpster in frustration.

"Damn it! I lost her. Fuck" he retorted as he looked around and sure enough no sign of her anywhere. Except the destruction she had caused. His mind raced with a million questions besides where she had gone. Why did she become so tired after that one move, he imagined a skullgirl would be much more powerful. He understood why she was after the Medici's and he wouldn't blame her. But why did she decided to do this? Was this her only route out of slavery? Sign your soul away for the artificial freedom knowing that it's damned for the end of days? He gave a heavy sigh as he looked around still. He probably should get to searching for her, if people are after this skullgirl either to take her down for good reasons or to get that heart, this is his one chance he will have at seeing Marie one last time. He decided to give it up for the moment and decided to return back the way he came. He'll find her again, he felt he would. Just have to think where a skullgirl would be. Though he was wondering if Squigly was alright, heck that girl he met on the tram as well. She said she was going to be in this area or this part of town at least. This was turning into a mess of a night for sure.

A bit of time passed as Arthur went back the way he came finding the troops had left. Probably attending to the wounded as he made his way through town. It took him a little bit of time, but he turned down an alleyway to head towards the tram station. Though what he found was something he was not expecting and was more shocked to see. He found both Filia and Squigly, however both were fighting each other. He saw what had been hiding in under Filia's hat, a black face with two glowing yellow eyes, big teeth and her hair had become some sort of weapon for the creature.

"I told ya once Leviathan, should have just stayed out of our business!" the creature on Filia's head said sending several hair strands up and over to strike at Squigly. Leviathan's tail came up twisting around itself to make a large disk shaped shield that blocked the attack.

"Samson, you arrogant fool! You'll doom yourself and your host!" the serpent hissed as it seemed more a fight between parasites that both Squigly and Filia were dragged into. This couldn't go any longer, both looked already rough enough so continuing would probably lead them both to getting hurt. He thinks about it and smiles, seeing the two were close this would be easy. Arthur took his brush out and started to doodle out in the air a large scale bucket as he filled it with blue paint, all of it was easy to shake off but the ones about to get it were unaware of this. He hops up onto a fire escape and then draws a rope that came off one end of the bucket lip. With the other end of the rope in his hands he grabs hold and swings right over them.

"Time to cool the feud" he said as the fighters below him paused to look up as he pulled the rope as he went across. The bucket began to tip over and would empty it's entire blue contents out splashing everything around them and keeping Arthur out of the mess. When the bucket emptied itself it dropped onto the ground which rendered all the blue color that had been dumped no more and left a giant spot of no paint. Arthur landed on it as he looked on either side to see Filia pulling herself out of a trash can covered in blue and Squigly picking herself up as well.

"Arthur?! What is the meaning of this! Why would you interrupt this fight? Do you not realize what that parasite on that woman's head will do to her?" Leviathan barked as he shakes himself of the paint finding it came off surprisingly easy.

"I don't have to take this from you guys! Filia let's go" Samson grunted as he was helping clean Filia from the paint.

"But Samson, should we really try going after the skullheart?" Filia asked as Arthur's attention drew towards her.

"The skullheart? Are you serious Filia? Was that the reason you were up here to begin with?" Arthur's voice was in disbelief and the same time concerned. If that damn thing of a heart made Marie into the monster she is now, imagine what it would do with a naive girl and a hot mouthing parasite.

"Yes I am Arthur. See when I meet Samson I lost my memories of my past and I want to wish them back. I want to know why I lost them" Filia said as she sounded sad as Samson merely rolled his eyes.

"But you'll lose yourself to the heart Filia. I know, I've seen what the heart can do. Believe me you don't want it" Squigly pleaded as she shakes herself of the paint. Filia's face twisted into a bit of embarrassment and shame.

"Filia, I say listen to them" Arthur suggested as Filia sighed sounded defeated.

"But I was hoping I could get them back" she commented placing a hand on her chest.

"Hey don't listen to em! We can get that skullheart" Samson rooted as if trying to cheer Filia on, Arthur gave a heavy sigh.

"Geez, thick headed bugger you have on your head Filia. Seriously, have you not considered the possibility that you lost your memories for a reason? Maybe a reason you hadn't though about, could be for the best" Arthur argued as he watched the paint around them slowly start to disappear, evaporating away.

"But what if I did something bad to someone? Maybe I should..." Filia was about to continue but Arthur cut her off.

"Your memories will come back in time. Memories is not like an Etch-a-sketch, shake it and they're erased. They're more like pieces. When we lose those memories they just get scattered around. You'll find those pieces in time, just have faith. As such a nice person as you are, the skullheart would only destroy those pieces for good once you did have them. Unable to do anything with them" he remarks as Samson sighed as he mulled the thought over.

"Ya know kid, he's got a point. I know you were wanting to go for the skullheart but the way he phrased it, what's the point of getting those memories back if you'll end up just a hollowed out shell of it?" Samson remarked as Filia nods rubbing her upper arm looking away.

"You're right, the idea is foolish. Maybe I should start looking around for pieces rather then just the heart… Thank you Arthur. Just be safe out here okay?" Filia commented as she turned and walked off. She had a lot to think about. He was right, if she did wish her memories back she wouldn't be able to use those memories or even enjoy them. Maybe losing those memories was for the best. Squigly and Leviathan were both watching the entire time a bit surprised as how this ended.

"I must say you've got a big heart to care about a total stranger like that" Squigly commented with a smile, Leviathan agreeing.

"A bit more concerned about others well beings rather then worry of your own. Quite a hard trait to find these days I suppose" Leviathan added as Arthur turned back to them scratching the back of his head. Getting a bit red to the cheeks from the compliments.

"It's really nothing. I would have told anyone the same thing honestly" Arthur assured them as he pulled his pocket watch and sighed seeing the time. It was nearly 1am and was quite late to say the least.

"We should get some rest some point" he adds looking around for a good spot to hunker down for the night. Maybe get some rest up on a roof.

"Sleep? I feel fine honestly" Squigly said as she looked at Arthur a bit oddly. Though she looked like she had been tossed around a little bit from the last two fights she had gotten into. Plus she was just waking up from whatever long sleep she was in.

"Squigly, trust me you want to rest up some. Your body maybe energized, but it's still a body. It can break on ya" he mentions as Leviathan sighed placing his tail end on his own face as sort of face palm gesture. Best not to argue at the very least as Arthur starts to go up a ladder heading for a roof.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Squigly asked confused as Arthur looked back down at her.

"I'm pitching a tent up on a roof. Sleep there for the night and start my search for the skullgirl tomorrow. You can go on your way if you really wish, but I'll tell ya with people on edge about the undead. I would say you would have a very bad time out there" he added as he continued his way up onto the roof. It was clear Arthur was going to have some sleep before he jumped into things. He was glad he still had a tent stuffed away in his messenger bag. Thank god for spending the extra bucks to get a bag with hammer space in it. Squigly sighed as she placed her hands on her hips looking up at the roof.

"Think we should hang around him Leviathan? I think we should, I think he wants to stop the skullheart too" she asked giving her opinion as Leviathan thinks.

"I think that would be a good idea. We would also get a guide for around the city as much has indeed changed since we were last awake" Leviathan added as she agreed. Taking a few moments, she would start to climb up the ladder to join Arthur.

It was not a long climb to the roof top, a flat roof top at least with nothing major resting on it except for the tent that Arthur had rigged up pretty quickly. He had a small hand cranked light that he had going and the tent was set next to a taller building immediately next to this building they were on. He already had a sleeping bag out and had his shoes off as he looked over to see her coming up.

"So decided to come up?" Arthur said a bit surprised as he gave a yawn sitting down on the sleeping bag inside the dome shaped tent. Could easily fit two people inside, maybe three tops.

"Yes we did, you maybe right I did just wake up not to long ago and on the climb up I felt a bit of my power start going. Maybe the skullgirl is getting weaker at the moment" she remarked walking over and sitting next to Arthur by the light. She didn't have to sit next to him, but considering he was the only warm thing on this roof, may make some sense.

"Well, she may have strained herself or something I'm not sure. I just want to know what happened to her..." Arthur's voice trailed off as he sets his messenger bag on the side inside the tent.

"I'm surprised you're wondering that. Most I've seen usually don't care about who or what the skullgirl was, merely trying to take the heart or destroy it. I did hear you shout a name after she threw the building away. Was she someone you know?" Leviathan asked as Arthur gave a sigh.

"Do I know her. Yes I do, well did. I suppose I still do but I'm not sure at the moment" Arthur starts as Squigly was moving to listen to him a bit better.

"See, I'm not on the street cause I'm a bad artist. I'm out here cause that's where I've started and I'm still going up from there. I was orphaned at an early age. Roughly five years ago, two girls came in. Patricia and Marie. Both seemed nice kids and Marie was always the quiet one while Patricia was more loud and forward. Needless to say, we all wanted families. Every orphan wants to feel like someone cares about them. Well, I kinda adopted Marie and Patricia and I think Marie did the same with me. We nearly became like siblings to each other. Though what tore my heart was on my 18th birthday, yesterday technically, slavers came to the orphanage and raided the place. I fought my way out of the orphanage and ran. I watched as they took my adopted family away and I could do nothing to stop them" he told his short story as he looked down at his crossed feet.

"My heavens, child slavery is still a thing?" Squigly sounded shocked not really prepared to hear that bit of news.

"Yes, and apparently the Medici was behind that operation, I found this out later when I picked up a train and came here. Lived in the docks for a year. But god damn it. I wished I could keep her from not becoming the skullgirl" he said to himself with a heavy sigh. He honestly now felt guilt for not trying to save Marie or Patricia from those slavers. Squigly sighed placing a hand on his shoulder that oddly turned into a hug as Arthur was a bit surprised by the gesture.

"Uhm… Squigly?" he asked a bit confused as Leviathan remained silent as he watched.

"I'm sorry that all happened to you. My mother was given the skullheart on her birthday, Medici's found out and murdered everyone including me. I really want the Medici's to pay for what they did to me and my family. They forced my mother to be a skullgirl and I know what can happen" Squigly added as Arthur nods listening to her. Well, not many live first hand encounters with the skullheart that he knows of. Now he's got a dead encounter for the skullheart.

"I'm sorry to. At least you had a mom and a father I suppose. I've just had people, no family" he said as he puts an arm around her just to offer some comfort.

"Erm this is gonna sound weird. But when you're asleep, can I stay close to you?" Squigly asked as he looked at her oddly.

"Why do you ask that?" he was a bit confused as he takes his arm away from her. She had slowly retracted her hug as well by this point.

"Well you're really warm and I want to feel warm again, I mean if you do mind then I apologize" she started to say as he pulls out a blanket. She looked a bit confused as he takes his scarf off and his hat.

"I really don't care. First time I've had to share something of mine with another person in bed. Though I'm going to get some rest. Good night Squigly" he turned the light off and started to lay down on the sleeping bag. A big blanket he pulled from his messenger bag he wrapped himself . He would close his eyes and start to drift off to sleep. Squigly was thinking and nods as she slides in under the blanket and gets as close as she can with him. He was quite warm to say the least not to mention a nice guy. For Arthur he was unsure how to make of this as he heard no protests out of Leviathan and not to mention this was a first time for him. His cheeks were red when she wrapped her arms around his waist to pull herself closer, closing her eye to sleep and Leviathan coiling up inside her head. But for all he knew, despite how cool she was, she was nice and very polite. He assumed she meant no harm. Though deep down, everything will change once they find the skullgirl.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning seemed to have come much faster then expected as Arthur slept soundly under the blanket he was under. He slowly gave a yawn as he was waking up starting to sit up on his sleeping bag. Though he felt something holding onto him as he looked over seeing something was in his shirt. Looked to be an arm as he looked over to see who it was. He blushed a bit finding that Squigly had gotten really close while they were resting. Apparently his jacket was opened up during his sleep and discarded as well. Something he may have done while asleep or to drowsy to realize it. He had nearly forgotten that she had asked to sleep with him just so she could be warm. A small wish but he saw no issue in fulfilling it for her. Though he began to wonder a few things as he observed her sleeping. Despite being quite peaceful while asleep, who would go out of their way of sewing someones mouth shut like her? Was there something that happened that she had to have her mouth sewn shut or did someone do it to her after she was dead for an insult? Also, if the two of them were going to be wandering around outside during daylight, people could probably tell from her looks that she wasn't part of the living with the sewn mouth and the boney left hand. Not to mention Leviathan coming out of her head. He could think of a few work things that he could do to help solve those issues. He felt bad for doing this but had to do it as he nudged her lightly.

"Hey, Squigly, you there?" he asked as he grabs his scarf to wrap around his neck. The scarf moved over to his messenger bag bring it over as to see if he had something to munch on for first thing in the morning. Both Squigly and Leviathan were starting to wake up as they gave a yawn. She rose up a bit with her eye looking drowsy as Leviathan had his head hung low drowsy as well.

"Mmmm is it already time to get up?" she asked with a soft sigh. It felt nice to be close to something warm for a change.

"I do think it is my lady" Leviathan yawned, his spaded tail covering his mouth as he shakes his head. Arthur found the two to be a tad funny in this state. He figured a nap like this wouldn't bother them one second. Then again, he was unsure how long they had been in the grave.

"Well hope you two slept well" Arthur joked as Squigly gave him a smile. Seems she did enjoy it despite having a bit of bed hair. His scarf managed to pull an apple out and brought it to Arthur.

"It was nice. I do have to thank you for uhm letting me get up close to you. You were quite warm" she told him with a smile though something else.

"Though can I ask you a question seeing we're still like this?" she asked curiously as Arthur raised an eyebrow at her. Leviathan was curiously looking at her too.

"What's that Squigly?" Arthur asked as he takes a bite of his apple.

"What is this hard thing that I feel poking at my leg?" she asked as she moved her leg which was right against his groin. Arthur's literally froze in place as his face turned bright red and his eyes looked down at the blanket and back at the two of them. Squigly looked quite confused and Leviathan had an expression that simply just screamed 'Really?'. Arthur would swallow the piece of apple he just had in his mouth whole and immediate stood up and started heading out of the tent.

"Well gee look at the time, need to do my morning walk, I'll be back i-in a few moments" he was quick to go outside and started to walk off his embarrassment. Leviathan simply sighed and chuckled.

"Leviathan, what's so funny? I'm confused" Squigly asked with a bit of a pout to her face mixed with some drowsy from just waking up.

"Oh nothing special Squigly. Just found it funny that men will always be like men" Leviathan answered which simply confused her a bit more. It took Arthur a few moments to calm himself down as he was outside. His socked feet against the cool roof. He looked around and felt something wasn't right. The sun was not shining, an overcast day with dark gray clouds. What made it so weird was the sound. There was no sound as he looked around confused. This couldn't be good. He decides to head back into the tent after his growing problem was gone.

"Something's off, should check this out" he told Squigly as both her and Leviathan looked at him puzzled.

"Well if you say so" she said as she crawled out of the tent as Arthur got the remainder of his things on before following her out. She looked around seeing the lights were out all over town, at least where they were. This felt a tad odd as Arthur got out of the tent and packed it up into his messenger bag.

"The city seems dead? Are we to late?" she asked concerned, did they miss the skullgirl completely now.

"I doubt it, she's not that powerful at the moment, I can still resist the hearts influence. Though I fear if she gets stronger, that may change" Leviathan notes as he looks around at the other buildings.

"I have a guess. Emergency protocols, either people have evacuated from this part of town or keeping themselves locked up to be safe" Arthur mentions as his scarf wraps around his upper arms gently.

"That actually makes a lot of sense, keep people away from harms way" she adds as Leviathan agreed.

"Right, though that probably means we may run into some pretty nasty people so be ready" Arthur mentions as he walks to the edge of the roof making this time a ramp that they could slide down on to get to the ground.

"Nasty people? We should be the only ones out… Right?" she asked a tad worried as Leviathan sighed.

"Call some people just cruel, but some would take this opportunity and loot from honest people" the parasite noted as he and squigly came over to where Arthur was standing.

"Agreed, not to mention some jacked up idiots wanting to bash in some undead heads. So things maybe a bit difficult" Arthur adds as he sits on the ramp and finds he'll slide easy on it.

"Well, ready to go?" he asked as Squigly nods ready to go. Both would take the sliding ramp down and make it to the bottom where both would depart to find the skullgirl.

This portion of New Meridian felt like a ghost town for all intents and purposes. The windows of stores were dark, signs were set to close, and resident homes seemed empty too. Now if there were actually people inside was a different story. Of course, there were a few undead bodies here and there, probably taken out by the soldiers last night when Marie was out. The two of them walked down the street looking around as Arthur sighed to himself. He missed a key element in all of this, how the heck was he gonna save Marie and more over how to find her. His gaze turned upward as Leviathan noticed the expression of thought.

"Something on your mind Arthur? You seem aloft" the parasite spoke as Squigly turned her attention to him for a moment. Arthur gave a sigh.

"Just thinking. I want to find Marie and have no idea how to find her. Plus I want to save her" he adds as both of his party members looked at him surprised.

"Save her? I'm sorry but I don't think there is a way to save her once she is a skullgirl" Squigly apologized up front recounting her memories.

"She maybe right. The heart binds to a female soul and once they're gone the soul goes to the heart" Leviathan added as Arthur protested a bit.

"I hear that, but I had this thought. So long as she is a skullgirl, her soul is still out there. She's still who she is. Maybe if the heart was destabilized somehow, huge influx of energy or cracking it, maybe her soul could start to slip out" he pointed out as the group stood there thinking about it.

"I've never thought that could be possible. However you would need something to cause that surge. Cracking the heart would destroy it and most likely destroy the one you're saving" Leviathan deduced as the artist smiled.

"Well, I ran into someone that gave me a bit of information and I think I have a solution" Arthur said as he pulls the theonite crystal from his messenger bag. Leviathan's eyes were surprised as he looked down at it. Squigly was curious about it as she looked at it.

"That can't be. How did you come across theonite out here?" Leviathan asked, the material was rare to begin with and seeing a random guy on the street holding it was a bit unbelievable.

"Trust me if I told you, you would never believe me. I was thinking, call me crazy but if I could split then in two, shove one half into the heart and the other piece on the opposite side of my scarf. Maybe, just maybe I could pull her soul away from the heart and into the other piece. At least her soul would not meet a bad end at least" Arthur suggested as Squigly was shivering.

"So you would trap her inside something else? That's as bad as pulling someone out of a cage and then throwing them in a coffin that's locked" she commented as Arthur froze for a second. She had a brutal hard point there, and she wasn't hiding it. Seemed Arthur hit a cord with Squigly on that regard on what to do with Marie's soul. He gave a sigh as he puts the crystal away.

"It's not perfect. And you're right. One bad situation to another. The difference in this case is, that crystal won't consume her soul. It may just hold it. Maybe I could find a way to bring her back I don't know. I just don't want to see her die" his voice was a bit rasp but kept his composure as best as he could. Though in truth, he had watched her die once before when she was taken from him and he didn't want it to happen twice.

"I can't necessarily condone your actions Arthur. Though they do seem rash and not quite thought out. However you are still aware that the skullheart must be stopped at all cost" the parasite was trying to refocus the conversation a bit to keep the two others from getting into a fight. Possibly finding common ground would help.

"Yes I know. And yeah it's probably a bad idea. But at least I have to try. If it fails it fails and that blame is on me not you two" Arthur stated as there was something coming down the street. An engine of a car? All three of them looked down the street to see what the sound was and saw a police car driving down the road. Though this wasn't a normal cop car. The cop car had several passengers in and on it. Two sitting in the front, the one at the wheel seemed to be a female with no eyes, a big top hat, arms having mechanical looking eyes and a cigar in between her metal teeth. A small bird dressed similarly to her was resting a pop up hatch on the hat. An anvil with boxing gloves was sitting out the window of the passenger side. A large weight was sitting on the top of the backside of the cop car, where a prisoner would go though looked to have two strong arms but no legs. The back was bulged out by something huge with smaller looking bombs with arms and legs were hanging out watching. The bombs had the number eight on them as the car was driving towards them.

"That's an unusual sight to see" Squigly commented as the three of them were standing there, but probably a bad idea. More so when the car decided to make a B-line for them.

"Squigly! Move it!" Arthur shoved Squigly to the side with his scarf as he darts the other way. The car zips right between them as he ends up landing on his belly, flopping on the ground and Squigly landing on her bum. The car stopped as the driver got out.

"Well well, lookie what we have here. Looks like a skullgirl guys!" the gal said as the others in the car started to come out. It was a literal five on one against Squigly as the two were getting up.

"Skullgirl?! I am NOT a skullgirl you child" Squigly corrected not wanting to hear it from her as both herself and Leviathan took a fighting stance.

"Let's clean their clock boss" the small bird said pulling out a rather large knife from the hat. Arthur would get off the ground after his flop after Squigly and the mystery gal started to fight. He would make his way over the car to try joining in with Squigly. Though the anvil character grabbed Arthur before he could jump in and pulled him back. Almost a toss as Arthur slid a few though landing on his feet helped in him getting up.

"No way mate, I ain't lettin ya interfere with the bosses fight. Just you and me, Andy Anvil gonna make leave ya a new shiner" the anvil smile like a shark fists up as Arthur was in no mood for games. The girl Squigly was fighting, her voice, the eagerness to fight, her looks, and her outfit. It reminded him of someone and this anvil was not getting between him and her.

"Got no time for ya mate" Arthur commented as his scarf was more then ready for a quick scuff and his paint brush was out. Andy went forward going for a straight punch as Arthur darted forward. His scarf keeping out of the way of the guys legs as he swipes and swirls his brush. A blue painted rope came from the brush to wrap around Andy's legs tripping him up.

"Hey what the! You dirty little!" Andy would start to complain before Arthur did the same thing to his arms, getting them tied so he couldn't remove the binds. Once that was done, he jumped into the fray with Squigly. This mystery gal was pretty tough and was giving Squigly a bit of a beating herself and wearing her down and Leviathan. She was fast and kept moving in an almost cartoonish manner. She ducked into a hole in the ground that vanished when Leviathan's tail came to slash at her. The gal came popping out of a hole behind Squigly with a mallet in both hands ready to slam it on them.

"It's Bashin time!" the gal said before she was interrupted by a scarf fist throwing her off her course. The gal was thrown a bit of ways before she landed on a pillow as her bird friend was hanging onto her shoulder. It was Arthur's turn to deal with this gal.

"Hey! Anyone teach ya any manners? It's rude to interrupt someone who's trying to bash a skullgirl in" the gal barked quite frustrated at him.

"For your information that's not a skullgirl and you've got some work to do little miss" he commented as the gal pulled a knife out of her dress and smiled.

"Then don't mind if I cut back in!" she launched herself with a little eight ball bomb as she rockets towards him. He's seen a gal rush him like this after he cut in their way. Maybe this will work. He took his brush and swipes upward creating an orange paint stripe that went from his head to toe just at arms reach away. He turned sideways to let her fall through the paint, grabbing her arm with his hands, he pulls her up and over his head. Though as he did this, the small bird came popping out of her hat with a mini chainsaw. His scarf made quick work swatting the little one away, a definitive thunk could be heard when it hit the ground. He would follow throw with the toss and land the gal right on her back as a slam. The gal was not expecting what she saw and was now partly covered in paint as Arthur had her hands restrained by his scarf hands. Standing right over her head, he looked down looking at her. That hat of hers having been knocked off as he looked down at her. She couldn't believe she got pulled in by such a dirty trick.

"You stinky little. I'm gonna beat that hid of yours so hard you're gonna wish you-" she started before he cuts her off with a single word.

"Patricia" was all Arthur said as the gal stopped her remark and just looked at him. Both her eyeless head and her mechanical eyes on her arms stared at him.

"Wait this can't be. No, Arthur?!" she was surprised and so was Squigly, Leviathan and the gang of odd balls.

"Yes it's me Patricia. The hell happened to you? Geez, I should have never let you two get out of my grasp" he commented as he still held her in place.

"Well, considering those fucking slavers took both my eyes and arms. Yeah, guess I slipped out huh? But a nice doc for some Lab 8 gave me a major upgrade to fight skullgirls. So that's what happened, and if you could let me go Arthur my bro or I'm gonna have to-Whoa, HEY!" she was explaining her story before he picked her up like nothing with his scarf and began to juggle her. Her crew was looking at Patricia a bit embarrassed as Arthur sighed.

"Patricia… Damn it, if I knew you didn't like hugs I'd give ya one right now. And again, that girl is not a skullgirl. Does she even look like a skullgirl to you?" he asked as he tossed her up and has her land on her bum. Bouncing a bit she grumbled standing up.

"Eeehhhh, considering she's around you. I figure not now. Geez can't find that gal anywhere" Patricia annoying grumbled as Squigly spoke up.

"Patricia was it? Why are you so keen to go after her? You're so young still" Squigly comments as Leviathan added his own two bits.

"And armed to the teeth too" his comment was overshadowed by Patricia's smiling metal teeth.

"It's Peacock to you missy. I was made to bash down a skullgirl, I'm the best of the best out here at taken them down" Peacock began to ramble on before Arthur rained on her parade.

"And yet you fell for one of my easiest tricks in the book. And I haven't gotten any upgrades myself" he smiled crossing his arm as Peacock wilted a bit as her face turned to a frown. Her gang was looking at her and trying not to laugh as she turned her attention back on him.

"And what you gonna do about it? Gonna kill her yourself?" Peacock remarked as her bird friend climbed back on her shoulder.

"Yeah, you gonna huh huh?" the bird asked with a smile as Arthur sighed.

"Patricia, I'm gonna try to save her. It's Marie. Our best friend, she's the skullgirl now and I ain't letting her go down like this" Arthur explained his little plan to Peacock as she was looking a bit dumbfounded by him.

"So let me get this straight. You find Marie, you stab the skullheart, you pull her soul out and she's free from the heart?" Peacock asked trying to piece if all together right. She wasn't that fond with the science and technical stuffs.

"Correct. I just need to figure out where she is to get to the heart" Arthur added as Peacock's avian friend had freed Andy from his binds.

"And then we got our very own pet rock! Sweet!" Peacock smiled as Arthur looked to Squigly who gave him a frown.

"Hey boss, ya could tell one of the lab guys back at lab. They maybe able to get her a body or somethin" Andy suggested as Peacock looked over at him.

"What? Give her something like they did me? But with lasers and shit? That be awesome!" Peacock smiled as Arthur sighed.

"Well, I suppose that sounds like an idea though I still don't know where to go to find her" Arthur commented as Squigly looked towards a direction.

"I think we do Arthur" Leviathan corrected as they were looking in a certain direction away from them.

"Awww yeah we get to face off against a Skull..." Peacock was going to finish before she looked at Arthur who had his arms crossed and tapping his shoe.

"Oh come on!" Peacock complained as he shakes his head.

"Nope, you get your ass back in that car of yours and head home. I don't want to lose you and Marie at the same time out here. Plus if you couldn't beat me, how can you beat a skullgirl" Arthur adds to his growing point as Peacock's gang were reconsidering their thought. Peacock just growled and sighed.

"Fine, but I'm looking for ya once I talked to those guys. Guys! Load up! Headin home!" she announced heading towards the car as the guys seemed a tad disappointed but a bit relieved. Guess they wouldn't have to face a skullgirl just yet. But they had to deal with her fiery wrath in the mean time. Arthur himself gave a heavy sigh seeing them drive off.

"Well, that could have gone worse" he chuckled as Squigly looked over at him.

"Is she always like that? Or was she an orphan like you were too?" she asked curiously as he nods.

"Yes, she was just like Marie as well. Always the defiant one and eager to get into a fight to show her grit" he adds as he looked off to where Squigly was looking earlier.

"But you said you know where she is?" he asked her as she led the way.

"I can feel the pull of the skullheart when she is close and when she's getting stronger. I can feel her once again and I think I have an idea where she is. Just follow me" she told him as Arthur followed along. It sucked there was no public transit but it was nice that no one would bother them while they traveled.

Where the two ended up was at a large cathedral, the Grand Cathedral to the Trinity. Arthur had heard a few things about this giant cathedral after staying some time in this part of town. Seemed to be the biggest church out there and probably the oldest structure in the entire city. The church seemed dark with backup lights that were on but not to much was seen. The two of them made it to the door and checked the door with a sigh.

"Oh drats, the doors locked. I swear I feel her on the other side" Squigly commented as she placed a hand on the door.

"I don't want to sound to brash but we could just knock the door down" Leviathan suggested, they were strong enough to do that. Though Arthur had a different idea.

"Or pick the lock" he suggested pulling his paint brush out. With a flick, a long strand of yellow paint came out as he pushed it into the key hole. Twisting the brush, the paint expanding forming into a key following where the springs gave way til it finally it clicked.

"There we go, ladies first" he insisted as he held the door open for Squigly as they went in.

"Well thank you kind sir" she commented with a small smile as he followed her in closing the door softly. If anyone was here, loud noises would give themselves away. The church was quite spooky in the low light as the sun was in the afternoon and starting to head towards sundown.

"So where are we going exactly Squigly?" Arthur whispered watching his step and trying to adjust to the low light.

"I think there maybe some catacombs or something. I can feel a lot of souls in under our feet including the skullheart" she whispered back.

"And who we got bumpin in the dark?" a cool tone came out as the lights suddenly came on. Both of the two had to pause for a moment to let their eyes adjust as they saw who was before them. It was a… nurse? Maybe a few buttons missing from the top, blue haired, one red eyed gal with an eye patch. She wore a medical mask over her nose and mouth as she had a bone saw on her backside.

"So much for the silent approach" Leviathan commented as he was more then ready for a fight.

"Trying to catch an appointment with the skullgirl? I have to apologize but she's currently booked right now. But I can keep you two company til she has another opening" the nurse pulled her bone saw out and immediately dashes into the air, nearly flying as she throws scalpels at the two of them. The fight started right in the middle of the aisle of the sanctuary as Arthur and Squigly did side steps to keep from being cut by the scalpels. When the nurse landed, Arthur threw an art board at her which she cuts clean in half with her oversized bone saw.

"Come on, can't do any better?" the nurse taunted as she dashed for Arthur. That was a thin art board he was using and pulled a thicker one from his messenger bag and started using it as a shield to keep her busy.

"Squigly! Find Marie! Do what ya can! I'll keep her busy and be down shortly" he shouted at Squigly which she took for a side door that went down to the catacombs.

"Cheeky little kid" the nurse commented bouncing off the board and heading towards Squigly. Arthur pulled his paint brush out drawing a wall that he rose up to block the nurse's flight so Squigly could get into the catacombs. Now she was heading down, now he had to deal with her and get down there too. The nurse bumped into it, but she rolled off it and landed on her feet.

"Hm, paint manipulation? That's a new one I've seen" the nurse commented getting some of that blue wall paint from his wall as she wipes it on a church bench.

"Who the heck are you? I know you're not Marie. Hell I've never seen you before" he commented as the nurse introduced herself.

"The names Valentine, though I'll but the crap. You maybe slick enough to distract me, but you won't be making that appointment downstairs. And nor will your friend" Valentine remarked as she dashes right for Arthur once more. He side steps to miss her initial lunge and comes around with a punch to hit her while she goes around. The punch landed but was not overly effective from his scarf fists. She rolls on the floor and quickly covers the distance between them swinging her bone saw rapidly and with quite a bit of precision. Arthur had to either dodge the strikes or use his brush to counter blows with stripes of paint as they went at it. He tried throwing a punch from his scarf to catch her off guard, but she quickly slides to his side and rams him into one of the benches. He groaned a bit hitting the bench hard but rolls off when she jumped up and was going to slice him clean in two. Rolling a bit in under the benches, he would pop up a few rows down as he looks in his messenger bag. Oh he had to do something to stop her for a moment.

"Your luck runs out here kid" Valentine remarks going in for another quick dash as Arthur finally finds it. He pulls out a very old fashioned flash cameras with a huge bulb for the flasher as he lines up a shot and takes a photo. The flash was bright enough she dropped in her flight and rolled. A nice thing she only had one eye as he threw a few items at her, several art supplies as he at least got her knocked out for a while. Though by evidence to her moving, the items really didn't knock her out as she was standing up, wobbling having spots in her eye.

"Well, will send ya the photo later, gotta split" Arthur smiled as he waved dashing for the catacomb door.

"Damn kid! One more reason I hate those little rats" Valentine hissed as she threw scalpels in the direction his voice was and last she saw him. He barely missed them as he closed the door to hear those things imbedding themselves into the door.

"Gee, close call mate. Now gotta get to Squigly, I hope she's doing alright down there" he hurried down the stairs quickly trying to reach where ever they maybe. It took Arthur a few moments to get down to a floor as he goes forward, shit where does he go in this maze of skeletons? Well for starters, he looked up noticing blue blowing veins, could he call them veins or roots? He couldn't tell but he they seemed more alive then a root as he follows them in a hurry. When he finally reached the source, he was nearly hit by Squigly's body, she looked pretty beaten up as she was shaking. She had been beaten by Marie but seeing Squigly was still alive, she was possibly spared. Arthur moved her to the side, into the hall he came from and walked out into the room. It looked like he walked into some sort of surreal dream as those blue glowing veins were strung across the floor, the walls and ceiling entangling themselves in skeletons and skulls. And at the base, Marie stood there as she was looking up at Arthur. Three massive skulls where floating in behind her and a fire was present too. A skeletal vacuum cleaner was floating around her as she watched Arthur come in.

"So you did came. Are you here to end me too?" she asked, her voice calm and even which was a trait she sort of had. But the added ring and hollowed sound made it eerie knowing what was in her chest.

"Marie, you should know me better then that. A lot better then that" he replied back to her a hand resting on his messenger bag as he looked at her.

"I can't say sorry enough times for what happened. And I know I can't undo what damage has been done" he told her as she closed her eyes giving a sort of soft sigh.

"Indeed, you were scared like the rest of us. Though you knew coming for me and Patricia would have been suicide. They would have killed you on sight. I do not hold anything against you for what your actions were. Though I vow to make the ones that did this to us pay" she told him opening her eyes slowly. Arthur knew what she was meaning, the Medici Mafia was on her hit list. Literally on her hit list.

"And at what cost? Marie, this isn't you. I know that for a fact. You were the silent type that always wanted to help. And sure, that heart will make the Medici's pay but at what price? That power will get worse and it will consume even those you were trying to protect" he tried to convince her out of it. Though it would be completely fruitless. Once a girl makes her wish, she doesn't get a choice afterward. She has to become the next skullgirl. Marie sensed this and gave a soft sigh as she looked up at Arthur who was standing no more then fifteen feet from her.

"I get it. You don't want to fight me as you care about me as a dear friend, no as a brother would. But you have to fight me as to try and save others, yourself and possibly save me from myself. Am I not wrong?" she asked as Arthur sighed. She had a way of catching him like this or know what he was thinking to nail him on the head.

"Yeah you can say that. No hard feelings right?" he asked her as he grabbed his paint brush. His scarfs were ready to fight as Marie's cool expression offered a small smile at him.

"No hard feelings Arthur. So come at me with all you can muster" she assured him this would not be an easy fight. But he can't lose, he already came this far and he isn't leaving this fight without her.


	5. Chapter 5

There was no doubt about the fight that ensued between Arthur and Marie. He had never faced an opponent this strong before as he had to avoid flying skulls and various undead minions that were summoned by her. He dodged most of them, but got clobbered several times when he placed his foot in the wrong place. Not to mention that black shadowy figure that kept darting at him to ruin his paint attacks. That's not to say that he didn't land a few hits on her too, she was looking a tad rough herself. A bit of her left cheek was falling apart from a right hook his scarf gave her but he was focusing around her waist and chest to try opening a spot he could get into it. Though at this particular moment, Arthur had rushed in to land another punch from his scarf while slashing upwards with his paint brush. These two attacks were interrupted when a large ramming skull came from out of nowhere behind Marie and hits him square in the chest. The paint slash did zip past the ram and got her chest area producing an opening that he could wedge something right to the heart. He grunted as he was thrown backward and laid on the floor as she watched him. His outfit was torn up, jacket rugged with more tears in it same with his shirt and pants. His messenger bag had a few holes in it when an undead mobster took a gun to him and got the bag instead. He picked himself back up seeing what damage he had done to her. Marie was still floating there watching him with her cool expression of determination. Was this really her or was the heart empowering her into this state? He couldn't tell but he needed something to cause her to flinch. He had one last trick, a trick he had kept to himself and never expressed to others.

"Let's give this place some new color what ya think Marie?" he asked as he flicks his paint brush. The beads on his scarf began to glow and were pulling at something in the air. A bit confusing at first but soon it became clear as the colors around them started to be pulled right towards him.

"What do you think to accomplish from this. My wish will not be stopped" she retorted as Arthur had pulled the color from the immediate room leaving a black and white look to everything except himself. In his hands and riding on top of his paint brush, was a large ball he was suspending as if he was some sort of magician in front of him. The ball had a swirl of color from the immediate area as he pushes it forward.

"Your wish will come true, but not like this Marie. Trust me" he told her as the beam of color slams right into her. A direct hit as she figured the attack would do very little. But it did quite a bit of damage as the colors started to return to the room. He kicked the ball of color at her and on impact she flinched reeling backwards for about a foot. There was his chance. He goes into his messenger bag and pulls the theonite crystal out as he lets his scarf grab it. Yes he expected the jolt but bared it this time as his scarf exerted enough force to break the crystal in half. While she was recovering, he rush forward getting within arms reach of her as he grabs her. He could feel a heat from her that was hurting him, but one scarf end stabbed into the heart. There was a pulse of energy that came from the hit and it sounded as both her and the heart screamed as she grabbed him back.

"Wha-What are you doing?" she asked confused but in obvious pain.

"Let us go human! I will not be stopped by some meaningless human" the skullheart hissed at him as the other end of his scarf clutched the other piece away from her body.

"Just follow me okay?" Arthur said as he twists the piece that was in the skullheart. The heart screamed and she winced. Raw power was releasing from it as he held onto her for dear life. Her attacks had seemed to stop all together. And if this was his final moments before he burned up, so be it. He tried at the very least. Though as the moments passed by he felt Marie's grip slipping his as her body was breaking apart. Shit had he already lost her! He was concerned but that changed when he felt something coursing through the scarf. It was at that moment he felt a touch on the back of his neck looking behind him, he saw a ghostly image of Marie floating in behind him who offered him a smile before immediately going into the other shard on the opposite side of his scarf. He smiled when he lets go of the heart and then looked at the shard he had in his other scarf hand. The orange crystal had started to shine a bit blue shades here and there. So it did work! He was smiling from ear to ear as the heart was floating in behind him.

"You fool!" the heart shouted at him as Arthur turned his attention to the heart. The heart had light blue veins floating around it as if it was missing something and a good sized piece of theonite sticking out of the side of it's top. Arthur pockets the shard of Marie, or at least hoped it was her, as he looks at the heart.

"Shouldn't be to difficult. Just smash the heart and we're done" he told himself as his scarf throws a swing at the heart. Though when he hit, his right arm followed the swing and some of those blue veins came into contact with his arm. The heart had other plans. It needed a soul, it was designed to only take one kind of soul. But now with this theonite temporarily stuck in it, that mold was a bit busted.

"Easier said then done" the heart said as the veins thrusts itself right at Arthur's chest. It happened so fast he didn't realize what was going on til he felt the searing pain from his chest when the heart pushed through. He screamed in agony as the heart pushed into him. The veins sinking into his skin as the heart was not finding a new home, it was making a new home. His shirt parted for while the heart pushed it's way into his chest til it was through. Arthur lurched forward catching himself panting, he felt the searing pain in his chest as he grips his fist right over his heart.

"The… Fuck?! I though this was not suppose to… Fuck!" he groaned as he was standing up. He felt like his hands could spit fire as a nun came out of the shadows.

"The skullgirl is no more, but I cannot let you be here" the nun spoke with her eyes closed looking at Arthur. He was slow as he stands up straight.

"The hell, where did you come from? I'd like to be out of here" he told her as the nun opened her eyes which were glowing red. A bad sign as the nun turned herself inside out and attacked him. He managed to dodge the attack but it was fast coming right back at him with a bladed tentacle slicing some strands of hair and leaving a nice cut on the right of his face.

"Geez! Fucking hell, the hell are you?" he remarked as he cups his right face and goes for a swing at the beast. He managed to knock it around with a left hand swing from his scarf as he wipes his right hand from the blood on his hand.

"I insure the heart finds a suitable home to unleash it's full potential. Unfortunately due to your tampering, you've damaged the heart and has chosen you. You can't escape it" the beast told him as it sent knives at him which slashed at his jacket sleeve. It was evident that Arthur was already worn out from taking the skullgirl down and this beast was getting easy hits.

"Now relinquish the heart back to me!" the beast demanded turning into him for a moment with it's fist turning into a giant sized version to crush Arthur. He was becoming desperate and pushed himself, though the heart seemed to power him back as he blocks the attack with his own fists. Though as he used this tainted power, he felt it like an infection trying to seep more into his mind and body. For a moment, one of his eyes turned red with his iris becoming a skull. The beast looked surprised if not in disbelief.

"No this can't happen. No I will NOT let this happen!" the howl that came from it was ear piercing as it sends another fist out, sharp claws on the inside and an eye in the middle to make sure it meets it's mark. Arthur slashed at it with his paint brush, a light blue paint stroke came out though when it hit the monster it would sear into it. The creature screamed once more as he continues his assault back on the monster.

"Leave me alone Damn you!" he shouted as the beads from his scarf ends shined out with blue flames coming from the palms as he thrusts them forward causing a fireball to occur. He burned the monster alive as he was trying to keep a hand on the whole power. When the best had finally been reduced to a pile of ash, he collapsed on the floor gripping his chest as his scarf ends gripped at his head. He could hear the voice of the heart wanting him to let go. Wanting him to given in and complete this new work it had started. There was power with this one given the theonite helped fuse the two together for this time around. Arthur breathed in heavy til he felt a hand on his shoulder and helping him up. He turned to look at who it was, it was not Squigly but Filia. Why did she come? Did she follow them here by chance?

"Filia? Why are you..." he asked as he noticed Squigly was already gone.

"I didn't want to see you trapped here, come on this place is collapsing come on!" she told him as she began walking with him as Samson was keeping rocks and debris from hitting them.

"What about Squigly and Leviathan?" he asked concern but continued his pace as he managed to silence the fire inside his chest for now. The veins that were once lit were now dissolving and the bones it had entangled were breaking too. Seemed those veins went deeper then he thought as the place was indeed caving in.

"I pulled her out while you were fighting Marie. By the time I got back, you were on the floor back there" she explained at least not seeing what had happened with the heart. That was good as he quickened his pace.

"That's good to know… Shit I'm in pain" he groaned as they made it out of the stair well and continued onward.

"Well I was wanting suggesting we leave ya down there but she wanted you to be on this side of the livin" Samson remarked as they continued on. The church floor was caving down as the catacombs collapsed so was the church.

"Come on! There's also some nice people outside willing to help us" she commented as they were getting out of the church.

"People?" Arthur sounded confused til he looked out once they were away from the church. There was a medical vehicle out there with a large truck out there too. Big Band was standing out there with Peacock and her crew. An odd looking nurse what this time seemed to be a nurse. Had a mask on her face with slit openings for eyes and her limbs looked to be wrapped tentacles in medical clothing. Not to mention two drills coming out of her shoulders like shoulder pads.

"Good crimity Christmas! They made it!" Peacock was surprised by this as the brass man looked down at him.

"And in pretty rough shape too. Thank you for pulling him out of there Ms. Filia" Big Band thanked as the nurse was just finishing with Squigly. Seemed that Squigly was no longer moving which was an indication the heart was silenced. Though Peacock stood in front of Arthur looking up at the beaten up artist.

"Well did ya do it? Spill the beans did he do it?" she asked as they looked at him. Arthur didn't say much as he reached a hand into his messenger bag and produced the orange and blue theonite crystal. As the energy flowed through it, an image of Marie could be seen swirling around inside it. Peacock grinned from ear to ear as Filia looked amazed. Was there a soul in there?

"Well strike up the band, it actually worked" Big Band even mentioned a bit surprised at the whole revelation a soul could be extracted from the heart. Though Arthur offered a small smile before he started to black out. He leaned against Filia before he lost his balance and fell over side ways. He dropped the crystal which his scarf was able to cushion it's fall as he hit the sidewalk hard.

"Hey! No blacking out on me!" Peacock said as she rushed over as Big Band held onto her with a big mechanical hand.

"Illium! Need your assistance here" Big Band called out as the nurse that was working on Squigly came over in a hurry. Filia was watching onward as his eyes closed.

How long Arthur was asleep after his blackout was unclear to him as he laid there in his dream scape. The usual blackness had the skullheart now hovering in it, it's light shining out around it as it was staring at him. With much intent. Was this what it was like to have the heart inside you? The constant dread of knowing something will happen as you're destined to becoming a monster. He tries ignoring the heart for a while as he hears possible outcomes of this endeavor. He can hear the cries of his friends as he murders them one at a time when the heart takes over his body. The idea itself made him cringe as he was thinking why. Though an interesting note he found was how was he able to think in his own sleep as if he was awake? Was that from the heart too or no? He was unsure though slowly something was waking him up as his eyes slowly started to open up. What he saw surprised him a bit as he looked around seeing he was laying on a hospital bed. The room had a side table with two chairs next to a large window. The blinds were closed as he could see a bit of sun peering though. He checked himself as he found he was still wearing his pants and a new t-shirt. Seemed to be a green t-shirt this time around. He looked at his arms and found bandages against his cuts as he seemed to have been taken care of while asleep. He shifted in bed as he looked around, he checked in under his shirt looking at his chest. Luckily there were no signs that anything had pushed its way into him so that was a plus. He checked back at the table next to the window to find his messenger bag, scarf, hat, and jacket were all there. Mind you, he needed a new jacket after it was torn to bits. He also saw his shoes on the floor in front of the seat, well that's nice at least. He heard the door opening as that strange nurse from before came into view. He shifted a bit as he looked at her. She seemed a tad surprised.

"Oh, good morning. I wasn't expecting you up already" she told him as she went over to the blinds and opened them up a bit to let a tad more light in.

"Just woke up Ms… Illium was it?" he asked her as his hands were resting on his lap.

"You're correct. I'm the head of medical for Lab 8's staff and crew. Usually I handle with the other ASG operatives but considering you looked fairly roughed up I figured we could help you" her mask was emotionless but her voice and green eyes expressed happiness in her work. Though what was Lab 8 anyway? Had never heard of it. Though he assumed it was in regards to making anti-skullgirl things best he can tell.

"I see, though what exactly did I miss while I was asleep? I assume Squigly's not here anymore since the heart is gone?" he asked curiously trying to pick up the pieces on what happened. Again she nods.

"You're correct as well. The young lady that pulled both of you out of the cathedral, Filia, managed to get Sienna buried in the cemetery properly. Under the willow tree on the hill. It seemed appropriate. As for what you brought back..." her voice trailed off a moment looking to the side as he tensed up. What was she talking about, what was inside him or the crystal? That freaked him out a bit.

"Dr. Avian and the other lab techs are looking into it and making fast progress on it. I've never heard of someone's soul being contained in theonite and I would imagine that he would be interested in learning how you did it" she finished as he gave a small sigh of relief.

" ? Who exactly is that?" he asked which was an honest question and most likely expected.

"He's the head of the labs. He's also responsible for making Peacock who she is today. Body wise" she clarified as both of them heard his stomach growl. Arthur looked a tad embarrassed scratching the back of his head.

"You stay put and I'll be back with some food. The lunch for today is soup, does that work for you or would you prefer something else?" she asked curiously as he shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind just some soup honestly. Maybe a small sandwich too but the soup for sure" he told her as she nods.

"Alright. I'll let Dr. Avian know you're awake. They've been working hard throughout the morning on that crystal. I think this will end well for her" her voice again gave off the sense of a smile as she walks out leaving Arthur alone. He gave a soft sigh hoping for the best with Marie. It was tough enough having to witness her being taken into slavery. Rough enough that he had to fight her just so he could save her soul. And it hurt knowing that his time was possibly limited due to his reckless actions. Though no one seemed to know just yet what happened. It seemed like a long while before she returned with a tray of tomato soup and a peanut butter sandwich. Looked to be milk on the side to drink. She sets the tray on his bed seeing that it was meant to be used in a bed as he thanked her.

"Thank you Ms. Illium" he told her as he started eating right away.

"You're welcome, you're good to go at anytime but I think Dr. Avian wants to speak with you on something. He's grabbing a bit of lunch before coming down this way. So it will be a few minutes. I need to attend to the younger ASG members and see how they're doing" she told him politely excusing herself out as he eats alone. He sighed looking over at his stuff and the tray of food. Nice way to lock him into place til he is finished. He would start to eat and try finishing up as soon as he could. It took a few minutes but he managed to finish his lunch. It was not like he usual dug up around town but was good. Hard to get a cooked meal as an orphan to be honest. Once he was done, he sets the tray to the side and starts to get his scarf and hat on. He looked over as the door opened up seeing a man in his upper 60s walk in. A bit taller then Arthur with short white hair though what can be noted is he had sharp teeth and red eyes. He was wearing a lab coat with his hands in his pockets.

"You must be Arthur I presume" the man said as he offered Arthur a bit of a smile. Arthur would nod in response.

"I am, and you must be Dr. Avian. How can I help ya? If it's money I can't do anything for ya there" Arthur mentioned as Avian chuckled.

"Not asking you for money lad. But I am a bit curious on a few things. Namely how you managed to get that girls soul out from the skull heart and where it went" Avian asked as he leaned against the bed as Arthur gave a heavy sigh. Better think of a white lie or something to keep the truth hidden.

"Well, I simply took two pieces of that theonite crystal, both held on either end of my scarf, I shoved one end into the heart and told her to just follow me as I twisted the crystal in the heart. The heart really didn't like that. But I felt her crossing through my scarf and then going into the other crystal" Arthur answered sitting in a chair facing the doctor.

"And on the heart… I'm not really sure. The heart was floating in front of me with the theonite piece in it's skull for a few moments. It was pretty cracked and took a quick hit on it and next thing I know it flashed a bright light. Filia missed it all though" he finished as Avian raised an eyebrow.

"So it was destroyed? Interesting, it's good that it is gone though it is still interesting how you were able to pull her soul across. Maybe we our assumptions were right with the skullheart being tied with theonite. I appreciate that information thank you" Avian told the artist though he shifted a bit.

"But I do have to ask you for a favor. Do you mind staying here with us for a while?" Avian asked as it was Arthur's turn to be questioning.

"Why? There something I should know about?" he asked as the good doctor had the answer in his hand.

"It's mainly from the soul you brought in. We've been experimenting with a bio-body builder that could create a new body for the soul. We've made the layout for how her soul can come out through the body via a canister using the theonite crystal to help power the body. Though the power output the crystal can produce is still enormous so we'll be installing a mod on her that would allow her to have some of her old powers back. More just bone manipulation and creation if she needed to defend herself. But that on the side, this brings me to my main request" Avian went silent for a moment looking at the young man.

"I want to ask you if you can stay here to monitor Marie? Peacock said she was a good friend of hers when they were in the orphanage and you were like an older brother to them both. While Peacock can take care of herself, Marie may not be able to once she has her new body. I figured a familiar face from her past may help her transition a bit better. We can offer you a free room to stay in, meals are on us but laundry is your chore not ours. We can provide a bit of funds but not an infinite amount given it's budgeted. Would you be willing to help us?" Avian asked the artist curiously. It sounded like a to good to be true sort of deal. Though he felt that Marie may become another anti-skull girl member given her modifications as he sat there mulling over the idea. This would be possibly the first time he had an actual home. Heck, for both him and Marie outside of the orphanage. Though he was unsure how much time there was left for him, he nods with a smile.

"Alright, I'll help you out" he agreed to the deal with Dr. Avian smiling. It was nice having a good help and a good attitude.

Two weeks had passed since when the skullgirl vanished and the heart disappearing once more. The scientist from Lab 8 were able to develop a body for Marie fairly quickly and oddly resembled her body as a skullgirl, minus the fact she had no heart out of her backside and was mostly solid. She was quite relieved to find herself able to move once more when given her body as she interacted with the younger ASG members and Peacock. Though as they played, Arthur always kept an eye on her getting a new earth green hoodie/jacket was a nice turn around as the weather was finally hitting to mid fall. The leaves were turning outside and could feel the chill in the air. Though by what Arthur had been going through, it was a blessing and a nightmare. Everyday he felt the heart gripping at him more and more. Trying to break free, and at times having to pull himself away from conversation or an activity to catch his breath while he pushed the heart back. He watched when he had to do this as knowing if he were to show signs he actually truly had the heart, he would probably be killed on sight. Or maybe they would try to save him. Who truly knows, he was unsure himself. Today though it was going to be a fun day for Arthur and Marie. He had suggested that he takes Marie out to the fall festival in the down town portion of New Meridian to give Marie a bit of fun. Marie wanted her friend Patricia to come along but seeing Patricia was still sleeping like a rock after staying up all night, best not to wake her. So with a bit of cash Arthur had, the two went out having a radio to Lab 8 in case something went bad. As the two walked down the sidewalk, it was a nice change to see Marie out of the maid outfit she used to wear. For today she wore a blue knitted sweater with a knee length skirt, black knee high socks and shoes. She still had clips in her hair, but no longer skulls but blue orange balls. Which in a way complimented her now orange eyes given the theonite's power that was keeping her body alive. Arthur had his jacket zipped up to keep from being cold while Marie had a dark blue jacket on too. She only stood around 4'8' a good foot shorter then Arthur but would keep that height as she aged in years given her body would not be changing unless she wanted it changed.

"Hey Arthur" Marie asked as she looked up at him as they walked together.

"Yeah sis?" he asked her back. For about a week now, the two of them had been referring themselves as siblings a bit more then when they were at the orphanage. Possibly given the fact that they were in more of a 'family' now and were doing well. Not to mention that he risked it all to save her from the fate of the heart.

"Thank you for bringing me out to this. I must say it's quite nice being out here. I've never been to a festival like this" she commented as his scarf shifted a bit around his neck and hung loosely in front of him.

"Oh you'll enjoy it. There's usually some games you can play for fun, foods as well, but sometimes it's fun to go around to just enjoy yourself ya know? I heard there's a small carnival portion to it if ya want to ride anything there" he told her as she smiled.

"You know I'm not the one fond of huge thrills" she gave a small smile as he chuckled.

"Yeah like the one time I juggled you and Patricia. The look on your face was priceless, but I could tell you were enjoying yourself" he told her patting her back.

"Besides, I'm here for ya now. You'll be safe" he assured her with a smile. She leaned in and gave him a quick hug smiling.

"I know you will be brother" she added as the two went on to the festival. And boy what a blast the two had. The venders were alright and he paid for her to try a few of the games. Actually winning a teddy bear for her efforts. Even going into the carnival to ride some of the rides. It was a happy time though as they were riding around, he kept his eyes peeled for trouble. The last time the two went out for a quick errand he noticed one of the mafia's cars driving away after they left a certain location. It was obvious they were trying to scope out someone and he had a good hunch who. Given how bashed the Medici's were after Marie pounded on them. Heck, he even checked the docks to find Ms. Fortune having a bit of an easier time thanks to the Medici's having to downsize a bit, so their power wasn't as strong as they used to be given their numbers were down. Not to mention, Lorenzo had died in the blimp crash which did make Marie happy, but that meant if the mafia was still together, she was a big target to hit. Especially with a report saying she's out but has no undead around her.

The evening went on by quickly as Arthur and Marie was starting to make their way out of the carnival heading towards a cafe. Despite her body being powered by the theonite, she could drink liquids which she did enjoy some drinks a cafe had. And Arthur himself was feeling a tad peckish for something other then festival food. Though it wasn't long before a fear of his started to creep up behind him.

"Hey you! Girl with the skirt, you Marie?" a female voice said as both of them stopped to turn their heads to the voice. They were a bit away from the festival now and not to many people were around. Who was walking up to them was Cerebella looking as her usual self though she seemed to have a bit of chip on her shoulder.

"Uhm yes I am, who are you and why do you ask?" she asked a bit unsure as she was a bit weary on the lady especially with her hat cracking it's knuckles.

"It won't matter if ya know me. But you got a lot to answer to for the Medici's for what ya did to my family. Think of this as payback for what you did" without warning Cerebella was in the air with her hat fist ready to slam into Marie who was still holding her teddy bear. She jumped back while Arthur stepped into play as his scarf situated itself back onto being wrapped on his fore arms. His scarf hand met her hat's fist as he pushes her away from them both. He kept in between Cerebella and Marie.

"I'm surprised you're with the mafia even. Figured you were just a stage performer" Arthur commented as he pulled his paint brush out.

"I'm not with the mafia, I'm doing this for the Medicis. They're my family and I won't have it watching their killer walk free!" Cerebella was in a bit of a rage as she came at Arthur with a left hook which Arthur dodge to deliver a right hook back.

"Family? Seriously? I heard they never had a daughter" he commented as a quick kick to the gut sent him over into some trash can.

"Brother!" Marie shouted as she felt a bit powerless to help as she had yet to use the bone ability from her new body up to this point in time. Cerebella looked at Marie with a bit of confusion and a bit of disgust.

"That's your brother? That's sweet to know, will make the payback a bit better" the performer commented as she was going towards Marie. An art board would interrupt Cerebella's charge knocking her sideways missing Marie so she could get away.

"Adopted sister. We were both orphans and we adopted each other as siblings. I lost her once before and I ain't gonna stand here and have some punk take her from me-e" he was getting up to approach Cerebella but his chest was pounding hard. He could hear the heart hissing at him wanting out. Not the best of time to be acting up. This won't end well no matter where he goes with it.

"Yeah and for your information buddy, I'm adopted too!" Cerebella came in close grabbing him in his stunned state and started to pound on him.

"Vitale adopted me when I was young. Gave me all the love and attention a child could ever need!" she threw him up against the wall and her hat fists began to pound on him over and over again.

"And you ruined it! You don't even know what it's like to lose your family to a skullgirl, you don't know what it's like to have to sit there and watch your family get hauled off to jail! You don't know anything!" she was letting her frustration out on him. Nearly everything she had been given was being torn out from under her and it was insulting to her face that this boy had even considered adopting that girl. The one soul that nearly wiped the entire medici mafia from the face of the earth. And all the while, he listened to every word and his patience had grown to nothing with her. Before she could land another punch, his hand caught her massive hat fist and twisted the hat. Cerebella, as she was connected to the hat, was twisted to the side as he threw her across the alleyway as he felt the fire beginning to burn inside.

"Anything? Tell me this Cerebella. Your family sold the orphanage me, Marie and several other kids were in into slavery. I managed to escape and come here. Marie was forced into slavery and somehow became the skullgirl. She found out who did this and came to them in a year. I spent that year here in the docks living off of scraps, knocking around the goons that bullied people around from that mafia. The lives that family fucked up and I sacrificed it all just to give a girl that didn't have a chance, a chance at life" Arthur rebuked with his right eye open and his left eye closed as there was a bit of a black eye forming there. Cerebella hadn't been hit that hard in a while as she was pulling herself up, Marie was looking on scared to bits what was happening. She noticed the scarf beads on his scarf were glowing but were glowing with a bit of a flame to it and the brush in his hand. The paint at the end matched the color of the beads as well.

"You've not sacrificed it all, you're still alive" Cerebella remarked as Arthur let her see the truth.

"Think again" as he spoke his left eye opened and Cerebella's heart sank. His right eye was the normal ocean blue as always, but the right was blood shot red. Glowing red with a half skull shape for the iris.

"How… That's not suppose to happen" the performer murmured as she was unsure if she should fight him or not now.

"Should have thought about that before walking into this" he didn't hesitate this time and slammed one of his scarf hands into Cerebella as he causes her to hit the ground tumbling as she groaned in pain. She didn't break anything but that still caught her off guard as she was slowly getting up.

"Now tell me, would your Vitale sacrifice himself for your sake? Or leave you high and dry?" he asked which set her off once more. Cerebella came dashing right at him ready to clock him right in the face but a quick flick of his paint brush stopped that. A glowing blue ball of flame came off of the brush that knocked her hat off. Seeing she was sit in run she was heading right for him anyways. His scarf grabbed her as he did a few quick punches at her face and to her stomach before tossing her to the side. She was trembling on the ground sobbing and defeated. Though as he stood there he was shaking himself, the heart had finally breached the last barrier and could finally express itself. A surge of power released from Arthur as his body was enveloped in a blue flame. Marie stood there watching as her heart sank further and further. That was the reason she felt him so close now. That's the reason he had chest pain. That's the reason he wanted to spend as much time with her. Cause Arthur had merged with the skullheart. Once the flames died Arthur was still standing there. Though his back was to her, he had changed. Physically he was the same. The back of his jacket had a spinal cord design on the back with what appeared to be ribs coming around to the front of the jacket. His pants had turned black and his shoes having a skull clip right on the laces. His messenger bag had a giant skull icon on the flap with a few bones sticking out of the bag. The brush he was holding was still a brush but looked more like a bone. His scarf floats around him a bit more loose around his arms now with some bits of the fabric being a bit fringed but no holes. The beads had a blue flame coming from them as he sighed. He knew what had happened as he turned to face his adopted sister. She could see that his jacket was unzipped with a blue glow in the middle, unsure if he was still flesh in under his shirt or not as both his hands were still flesh. His eyes still remained as they were before, though both were now glowing and his black hat had a skull icon on it as well as he looked at her.

"Arthur… No. No, you couldn't have" Marie's voice was shaky as she had her hands to her chest missing her bear now. She had dropped it not far from him as she dodged an attack from Cerebella. He gave a sad face, hurt and in pain as he walked over picking the bear up. He would walk back to Marie who didn't move an inch as he hands her the stuffed animal. His hand also pulls out the radio from his messenger bag and hands it to her.

"The heart was unstable and it latched onto my soul. It's been eating at me like an infection. It wants me dead so it can be free. I didn't want to scare you all as I wanted to spend more time with you" he said as he got down on one knee looking at her better. She was upset for sure as she just got her brother back and now finding out, he was gonna have to go.

"You..." Marie was trying to hold the tears back. Was this how he felt when he watched her get pulled away from him? Was this the sadness that followed? Before he could speak another word, he pulled her into a tight hug holding her close. Which she held onto him too around his neck as she felt the tears run down her cheek. It was terrible how twisted fate was to them. Literally switching the tables on each other. He pulled from the hug with a tear coming from his right eye as he gave her a half smile mixed with pain of what he was about to ask her to do.

"Marie, it was the only way I could save you. I had no wish, just a desire. I'm going to leave you here, call back to Lab 8, tell them what happened. There's several hours before midnight, by midnight it begins" he told her as he gets up with a grimace expression. He didn't want to do this but soon he dashed off heading towards one other that he wanted to say goodbye to. One that would only be awake if there was a skullgirl. Marie looked on as he disappeared down an alleyway and out of sight. She just lost her big brother to the same fate that she would have faced if he didn't strike at her. She gave a deep breath and turned the radio on and pushed the talk button.

"Lab 8, This… this is Marie. We have… a problem. It's about Arthur" she swallowed hard knowing what was to come after those words.


	6. Chapter 6

"Illium, can I ask you a question?" Big band asked the nurse from lab 8. Both were sitting in a lounge that was in the commons for the ASG members. She had a radio on the table and a cup of coffee. Seems she was the one to answer in case Arthur and Marie had trouble.

"Yes Ben what is it? Does it involve Arthur?" she asked curiously as Big Band, or Ben, sat down beside her. One of his padded claws had a coffee mug and had it close to his mouth given his arms were nonfunctional.

"It is, something about his story doesn't add up correctly. The skullheart never just vanishes in a flash of light, we've both taken skullgirls down and we know that's not how it works" he told her as she sighed sipping on her cooled coffee.

"I agree, he healed much faster then expected given he was only human to our knowledge. When his orphanage was taken over, the medical records were lost and I was unable to recover those. His vitals were fine but something about him felt off" she commented as Ben agreed.

"Especially the burned shirt around his chest. I can imagine a skull from a skullgirl would do that, but no injury on the skin was visible. And I've not touched into the fact he still has a theonite reading" he told her as she looked surprised.

"I thought you guys told me he shouldn't have one. Theonite traces would have been gone in a week tops" she added as he looked concerned.

"That's the reason I'm going to have a talk with him once he's back. He's not given us the full story and I know it. I have a hunch but I'm not sure exactly how it happened" as he was thinking aloud the radio came on that was in front of Illium.

"Lab 8, This is Marie" Marie came on the radio as both looked surprised.

"Yes Marie, this is Illium what's going on?" Illium asked a bit concerned.

"We have a problem. It's about Arthur" Marie stated as both Illium and Ben looked at each other. This was not good to say the least. Possibly to late to stop what was about to unfold.

Time was short and he knew it. He could feel the heart trying to grow further but it was more difficult for it as it had to make it's routes rather then having the already built in routes that females have. The heart was meant for women not men, and it was trying to do it's own work while in a male. Of course, that would give him time he needs to give the ASG a bit to get themselves together to take him down. He loved the time he had with Marie but it had to come to an end. He managed to slip by a lot of people using the roof tops, most had no idea what he was. Thinking he was just some sort of costume geek to early for halloween. He made his way into the cemetery, a place he could find refugee but also find someone he was looking for. He'd only met her once but she aided him in his journey to save Marie. But now he needed to make sure she didn't end up on his side. With as volatile as the heart was, he could overpower her and take control. And honestly, he wanted to at least say goodbye to her. He was told she was buried here as he wanders the cemetery til he came to a hill that went up to a willow tree. A tomb stone sat there as he took a deep breath and went up. He came upon it to find it was indeed Squigly's grave. He sighed as he paced.

"Great Arthur, you could have hand delivered yourself to Lab 8 and have them take you down. No I come out here, where there's a ton of bodies so if they fail there's an army now. Just so I can see someone I didn't say bye to two weeks ago" he muttered to himself as he looked around. What the heck was he gonna say, what was he gonna do if he woke her up. She would probably be mad as hell at him, especially Leviathan. He could already hear the lashings for being a fool already before he even pulled them up.

"Damn it, one of the few female friends I would like to hang around with more and she's a dead girl. And now I'm a dead guy… Well not yet but the hell do I care now. I'm gonna be dead, I hope, in a couple of hours" he told himself walking to the other side of the tree and sits down. Closing his eyes he tried to focus himself and aim on just her. He didn't need the whole cemetery coming to life. Though without much effort he heard the earth moving and soon something opening. Probably the coffin as a yawn is heard.

"Mmmmm Leviathan? Are you awake?" the familiar voice said, Squigly had woken up as Leviathan was waking up too. A yawn came from him.

"Yes my lady I'm awake. Though it feels like we were only asleep for but a moment" he said as he looked around.

"But that means if we're awake, a new skullgirl has arrived" he added as Squigly gave a sigh.

"I know, but we both know this would have happened eventually" she added as both were about to embark away from the tree before hearing a voice for them.

"Squigly… Leviathan..." Arthur's voice spoke out as he was slowly standing up from the tree. He was away from them and had no idea what was happening. The moon was out tonight which helped cast a shadow from the tree as both could see the shadow.

"Hm? Arthur? Is… Is that you?" she asked rather curious as she started to walk around the tree.

"Please don't… Don't come closer" Arthur added as she stopped in her steps.

"Why not Arthur? It can't be that bad, you don't sound like a wrinkled up old man and if you were I'd be fine with that. You would still be my friend regardless" she gave a smile as those words stabbed into him like knives. She had considered him a friend now? Oh geez this was going to be bad.

"How long has it been since we've been away? If you're still as young as you are, something had to have happened" Leviathan inquired as Arthur sighed heavy leaning against the tree.

"No less then two weeks. I was able to get Marie's soul free from the skullheart. An anti-skull girl group managed to make her a new body that hopefully they can learn something from her as a past skullgirl. The Medici Mafia is all but shattered now since Lorenzo died in the blimp crash that Marie caused" he told her as he fell silent.

"Well, that's wonderful. Now you and Marie can be together again as family. And with the Medici's gone things should be looking even brighter right?" Squigly commented as Arthur sighed.

"It's not that… simple at the moment. Though before I say this. Tell me what do you think of me?" he asked as she was taken a bit by surprise.

"Think about you? What do you mean?" she asked as Leviathan was sensing it already and his eyes went wide but kept silent. There was an odd pull towards him, something similar to something they felt when facing Marie.

"You know, what do you think about me. In the short few days we were going through town, what do you think of me?" he asked her as he listened to her response.

"Well, I think you're a good person with a noble heart. Really trustworthy with what you've done and quite determined when you set your mind to it. Though your recklessness can be troubling to say the least" she concluded as he took those words to his mind and tried holding onto them in his soul.

"Thanks though you were right on the reckless. I told you I was able to get Marie's soul out. However, I didn't get off the hook" as he spoke he turned around the tree to where she was so she could see him. She gasped covering her mouth in almost disbelief what she saw. She couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible.

"But, how? The heart's only meant to work on women not men" she said as Leviathan lashed his tongue.

"You idiotic fool! We told you the idea was a bad one from the start and it came to bite you back" he barked as Arthur sighed hands to his front as he bit his lower lip.

"And you're right Leviathan. I took a huge risk and it bit me hard" Arthur acknowledged as she frowns.

"So why in the world would you come here? Try to convince me to join you or something? I cannot let the heart slip into another persons hands" she added as Arthur shakes his head.

"I came here to apologize and say good bye" he told them both as they looked at him oddly.

"Apologize for your actions?!" Leviathan snarks as she snaps her fingers at him. Sure he was mad and so was she, but she would at least hear Arthur out.

"Apologize for yes my actions but not being there for you guys too. I should have bailed with you guys down to the catacombs sooner. It would have given us both a fair chance to get Marie out and destroy the heart. But no I made a mistake. And hell, all my friends will be against me wanting me dead" he told them as he leaned up against the tree.

"The heart won't be able to give me a full jolt of it's power for another three hours. Til then I'm literally a sitting duck unless I get into a fight and then things get worse" he looked down feeling ashamed.

"And I knew if I didn't tell you before that time was up and you woke up, your last memories of me would be of this monster… Skullboy I suppose I can call myself. I don't want that" he had a tear drop from his right eye as he closed his eyes. Leviathan sighed as he looked at him and then back to Squigly.

"You know we could destroy the heart out of mercy and put and end to yourself" he offered as Squigly cringed.

"Leviathan are you serious about that? I mean he's our friend" she argued as her parasite sighed.

"Friend as he maybe, but the heart will only kill him more and more. We've both seen what the heart does to people and it's a tragedy that it had to happen so close again" he added hanging his head low.

"Not to mention my soul then becomes damned after I'm dead. So in the end I suffer and death would only be my salvation but for a moment" Arthur added as wipes the tear away. It was hard for her to think about it, she wanted to comfort him so badly and wanted to save her own friend. But in trying to save him, he would have to die.

"Well, maybe the heart won't take your soul but the theonite instead. It's a different way of thinking about it. Plus if your soul is like that, I don't mind coming to you for help" she offered as she stepped closer. She got close enough she could hug him as she turns his head to face her. They were about a few inches from each other as she rests her forehead on his. Her two arms wrapping around his neck to hold him closer. He was silent as he seemed reluctant but looked back to her as he saw she was willing to help him. Merciful as it maybe he knew there was one way out of this now. And it was gonna hurt. He hadn't killed anyone as his arms slowly wrapped around her waist. The embrace he was in was new to him as he looked down and then back up to her.

"Thank you Squigly. I know the ASG will be out here soon enough and I don't want them to get hurt and same for the both of you" Arthur added as she nods.

"Then do you want us to… do it?" she asked him as he nods.

"Are you sure?" Leviathan confirmed as Arthur answered.

"Yes" was his final answer.

Two days passed since that night. Life had gone back mostly the same except for one more soul missing. It was a sunny day outside as Marie was out at the cemetery with Big Band accompanying her. She was wearing a similar outfit to what she wore the night Arthur turned. But she had a new addition to her outfit. The red scarf he wore was wrapped around her neck. When the ASG finally found where Arthur had gone based on her words, they found Arthur being embraced by Squigly as they were both dead. The skullheart had been pierced by Leviathan's tail through the chest. Quick and efficient, he would've felt pain but it would have been quick. The ASG had Squigly reburied and Arthur buried next to her. His tomb stone read 'To the boy that gave up his soul, for an adopted soul'. Though Marie visited the grave and had flowers for both of them, they were still family, Arthur and Marie. And though he is gone, and in the afterlife Arthur did find Sienna. Both would be locked away possibly til the next skullheart was close by to pull them from the graves. But til then, they were together. And Marie had the family she wanted. Not the family she imagined, but a family that would be there for her even when losing her adopted brother.


End file.
